Bill that fueled conspiracy theories yanked by lawmaker

A six-year-old bill that fueled false COVID-related conspiracy theories was yanked this week for consideration by its sole sponsor, Assemblyman Nick Perry.

The Brooklyn Democrat in a statement posted to Twitter on Monday afternoon wrote the measure was being yanked in order to end the false claims that have once again spread online for the second time in the last year.

“To deprieve these individuals the ability to use this issue for fuel to spread their fire of lies and mistruths, I will take the appropriate legislative action to strike the bill, remove it from the calendar, thus ending all consideration, and actions that could lead to passage into law,” Perry said. “Get vaccinated and stay safe.”

Perry had initially introdued the measure in 2015 in response to concerns over the spread of the Ebola virus and after a nurse who was positive for the virus refused to quarantine.

In response, Perry introduced a bill meant to give the executive branch of state government the authority to detain in a medical facility people who are infected during pandemic as well as their contacts. Detention of more than three days would require a state order.

The measure never had a companion bill in the state Senate, which would have to pass any legislation alongside the Assembly in order for it to be then sent to the governor for consideration. Perry’s bill never had any other lawmakers sign on in support of it.

Lawmakers often introduce their old bills each legislative session en masse, and old bills from prior sessions are re-submitted for consideration every two years.

Perry was nominated earlier this year to become the U.S. ambassador to Jamaica and is expected to leave the Assembly before his term concludes.

But despite the bill not having a realistic chance of becoming law or addressing the current public health crisis, false claims over the bill initially spread last year on social media.

The bill once again caught the attention of social media this week, with false claims about its scope and on reach on apps like Nextdoor.

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