Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) issued the following statement:                                                               

"I disagree with the governor’s mandate that citizens arriving on designated domestic flights at New York airports must now fill out paperwork to comply with the state’s quarantine restrictions and for government tracking purposes.  Those who fail to comply face a $2,000 fine and possible mandatory quarantine.

This overreach by the Executive Branch assumes that law-abiding citizens must be threatened with harsh punishment and tracked in order to do the right thing.  This encroachment on civil liberties sends the wrong message and suggests that residents cannot be trusted.

As the legislature prepares to return to session next week, I urge my colleagues to review this and other Executive Orders imposed by the governor.  Such important issues deserve to be discussed and debated in the Legislature and not decided unilaterally.  It is time to restore state government to the system of checks and balances intended by our Constitution."