Syracuse, NY – Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli will reintroduce a bill vetoed Friday that would have set up a “Gold Alert” system to help find missing seniors. Magnarelli announced his plan this afternoon at the headquarters of the Alzheimer’s Association CNY chapter, which endorsed the bill that he managed through the Assembly and David Valesky, D-Oneida, got passed in the Senate....
Syracuse, NY – Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli will reintroduce a bill vetoed Friday that would have set up a “Gold Alert” system to help find missing seniors.
Magnarelli announced his plan this afternoon at the headquarters of the Alzheimer’s Association CNY chapter, which endorsed the bill that he managed through the Assembly and David Valesky, D-Oneida, got passed in the Senate.
With him was Linda Pierik, whose father, retired firefighter Frank “Shine” Wlosinski, 74, disappeared in January. His body was found more than two months later in Onondaga Lake.
Gov. David Paterson vetoed the bill Friday, saying its provisions forbidding disclosure of the missing senior's medical information or "vulnerabilities" would “dramatically reduce the impact of the alert” by eliminating the sense of urgency behind it and withholding information needed to identify the missing person.
Magnarelli said he didn’t understand the governor’s concerns. Both AARP and the Alzheimer’s Association advocated against including medical information, he said.
“If someone wanders off from assisted living or a nursing home, what you need to get out is a description of that person” such as height, weight and what clothing the person had on, Magnarelli said.
Magnarelli said he will bring the bill back in the next Legislature session and work with the next governor and his staff to get it enacted. Paterson is not running for election.