In the final week of session for the New York State Legislature, I was proud to pass my bill A10105 – “Gittel’s Law.” In 2000, lawmakers passed a law where mental healthcare providers could face criminal penalties for certain sex offenses committed during a treatment session, consultation, interview, or examination. Mental healthcare providers can have a great amount of influence over their emotionally vulnerable patients and abuse of that influence in such an egregious way must not be tolerated. But the law has become outdated.
Back in 2000, “mental healthcare provider” was an umbrella term used by lawmakers to capture professions like licensed psychologists, physicians, and social workers. When new licenses were created in the ever-growing mental health field, the language of the law failed to capture those new licenses leaving victims without recourse. Such was the case for Gittel.
Gittel’s licensed mental health counselor took advantage of her. Sadly, when Gittel went to her District Attorney seeking justice, she was told that they could not prosecute. She then turned to Amudim, an organization that aids those in crisis, and their ineffable leader, Rabbi Zvi Gluck, who took this matter very seriously. Zvi and I discussed this flaw in the law and I went to work drafting legislation to close the loop. The Jewish community tends to shy away from topics like this, but the unfortunate reality is that abuse happens and we as a community must take it seriously.
Gittel’s Law’s expanded “mental healthcare providers” to licenses created after 2000 and included language to capture any new licenses that New York State may create. This bill was straightforward and as common sense as you could get. Still, I knew the challenges of trying to expand a crime in today’s more progressive legislative body. Over the course of five days, I sat down with each and every legislator I could find and secured over eighty Democrat cosponsors for the bill plus two Republicans. From the most moderate of Democrats to the most progressive, I received near unanimous support. Senator Fernandez, a champion for sexual abuse victims, agreed to carry Gittel’s Law in the Senate.
Still, there was pushback about expanding crimes. In the end, we were able to add licensed mental health counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists to the law. There are still more professions which I will continue to fight to have included, but these two practices are both rapidly-expanding fields in the mental health space, especially in the Jewish community. Gittel’s Law passed in the Assembly with 145 out of the 150 Members voting in favor.
This was a major win. We expanded a crime to provide justice for victims and accountability for bad actors. “It is extremely difficult to expand crimes in the Assembly” was a phrase I heard a lot when I started in the Assembly. Still, I fought for what I believed in, brought leadership to the table, and accomplished the change I sought.
As the youngest and newest member of the Assembly, I have drawn a hard line as a moderate Democrat. I have unabashedly broken from the party to vote no on bills I disagreed with. Most of my bills have been bipartisan because I am willing to work across the aisle. Party politics should never get in the way of representing the people of District 27. Our state has been pulled in extremes over the years and it is not enough to stand passively in the middle of the road. The middle needs a loud voice who can center our state and pull us back into reality.
I am proud to have carried Gittel’s Law, proud to have fought for victims of sexual abuse, and proud to have passed this common-sense legislation.
By Assembly Member Sam Berger
