A Repeal Bail Reform Task Force, set up by Senate Republicans, held its first hearing in Buffalo on Thursday.
The task force says its goal is to hear from law enforcement, attorneys, probation officials and victims on the changes made to the bail and discovery process.
“Holding these hearings is vital in order to provide communities across New York a voice in our state’s criminal justice reforms. A voice that was sadly neglected when Democrats crafted this deeply-flawed legislation last year,” Sen. Robert Ortt said.
The group led by the State Senate Republican Conference is chaired by Sen. George Borrello and co-chaired by Sen. Sue Serino and Sen. Patrick Gallivan.
All three Senators have been active in voicing their opposition to the bail reform laws.
New York legislative Leaders are still at odds over what to do about the criminal justice bills.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has admitted to problems in the bills and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has said she has been meeting with a group of Senate Democrats talk about possible changes.
"We've always been open to tweak. We will not be repealing the bail law, but we want to make sure what we've set out to do is stop the criminalization of poor people," Stewart-Cousins said.
However, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is saying it's still too soon to see if the laws they passed a little over a month ago are truly working or not.
Senate Republicans say additional task force hearings will be scheduled later in Long Island, the Hudson Valley and Syracuse.