Featured Story

Assembly okays 9/11 license plates

COURTESY PHOTOS State Senator Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), left, and Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor).
COURTESY PHOTOS State Senator Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), left, and Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor).

The New York State Assembly passed a bill authorizing the issuance of September 11 commemorative license plates by a vote of 128-0, according to Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor).

The original bill sponsored by Senator Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) is awaiting final passage in the Senate and would then go to Governor Andrew Cuomo for his signature.

“On September 11, 2001, our nation experienced an unforgettable tragedy,” Mr. Thiele said. “Nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93, which crashed in western Pennsylvania. These commemorative license plates will serve as a vivid and continuing reminder of the lives lost, the courage found and the sacrifices made,” the legislator said. “This legislation sends a powerful message that they have not been forgotten.”

The surcharge for the plates wold be deposited into the World Trade Center Memorial Scholarship Program established in 2002 under the Education Law, Mr. Thiele said.

For more than a decade, issuing of new commemorative plates was blocked by litigation involving free speech issues not directly related to the September 11 legislation, he said. With the conclusion of the litigation, the state was able to clear the way for its bill, he said.

[email protected]