NY Assembly Guards the Messages Constituents Are Sent

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A New York State senator, a Democrat, and an assemblyman, a Republican, have sued to end a General Assembly practice that lets the leadership, through a central communications office, censor the constituent newsletters sent out by members. The leadership’s club? The state won’t mail the newsletters, picking up the cost of postage, unless the speaker or senate major leader approves of the newsletter’s content. “This is the sort of stuff that gives totalitarianism a bad name,” said Rep. Thomas Kirwan, one of the plaintiff’s. (4/13/06)