The New York State Senate have voted to approve a bill (proposed by Sen. Andrew Lanza, pictured) that would make the classification of all games sold in the state mandatory. It's now on its way to the Governor's office where, if signed, it'll become law in 2010. Those with their legislative knickers in a twist should know the bill isn't seeking to ban games, or censor games, or restrict their sale in any way. All it's doing is taking the view that current ESRB ratings are voluntary, and should anything ever happen to cause the ESRB to stop rating games off their own back, either they or somebody else would have to rate them. As someone who lives somewhere this is already the case - and the sun comes up on a daily basis - seems pretty harmless to me!
NY Senate Passes Video Game Bill 61-1 [GamePolitics]