News from Assemblyman 130th Assembly District JOSEPH A. ERRIGO   For immediate release: June 3rd, 2005 Contact: Adam Peterson (585) 334-5210 District Office: 3045 East Henrietta Rd., Henrietta, NY  14467 Albany Office: Rm 427 LOB, Albany, NY  12248

FOR RELEASE: June 3, 2005 CONTACT: BONNIE TURNER (585) 334-5210 ERRIGO LAUDS PASSAGE OF ADDITIONAL MILITARY BENEFITS      Assemblyman Joe Errigo (R,C-Conesus) today praised the Assembly's unanimous passage of Patriot Plan III earlier this week. The legislation strengthens benefits for New Yorkers serving in the military.      "With so many of our loved ones overseas, the passage of Patriot Plans I, II and now III allows these service men and women to rest assured they and their families will be taken care of while they're gone. I applaud the Assembly for working cooperatively to ensure that the brave men and women who volunteer to defend our freedom will not have to worry about their families back home."      Patriot Plan I, passed in 2003, provided more than a dozen benefits for New York military personnel and their families. Among these provisions are protections against discrimination in housing and employment, caps on loan obligations, automatic extensions of driver licenses and vehicle registrations, allowances to terminate auto leases in the event of activation, and free hunting and fishing licenses for eligible service members.      The Patriot Plan II enhancements, passed in June 2004, were designed to further ease financial and other burdens placed on New Yorkers serving in the Guard and Reserves, including tax exemptions and filing deadline extensions, tuition award eligibility expansions and increased pay for New York state military personnel.      Patriot Plan III would:           Provide survivors of eligible public employees, who die while on active duty, with the same health and death benefits to which they would be entitled had their loved ones died as a result of an accident while working as a public employee           Reimburse premium payments sufficient to assume the costs for $250,000 worth of general life insurance for members of the state's organized militia during periods of active service           Create a new "War on Terror" license plate to be issued, on request, to veterans of the Persian Gulf or Afghanistan conflicts.      For more information or questions, feel free to call Assemblyman Errigo's district office at (585) 334-5210, e-mail him at errigoj@assembly.state.ny.us, or write to 3045 East Henrietta Road, Henrietta, NY 14467.   -30-