New York State Senator Kemp Hannon announced the enactment of Senate Bill 760, which eliminates the requirement of two witness signatures on an anatomical gift donor document, such as a driver's license. Governor George Pataki signed the bill in July.

As the sponsor of this bill, Senator Hannon urged its passage in a letter to the governor, citing the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws' (NCCUSL) recommendation that "an anatomical gift may be made only by a document of gift signed by the donor." This eliminates the need for witness signatures.

In passing this legislation, New York State has joined the 24 states that have acted on the recommendation of the NCCUSL. With the exclusion of data from seven of the states, as of March 31, 2005, there has been an average increase of 95 percent in organ donation since the enactment of the statute.

The need for greater organ donation was made apparent by a 1985 Gallup poll, which concluded that organ donation awareness and action was "dismal."

DMV Commissioner Raymond Martinez said that this legislation would "add the next one million New Yorkers to the registry" of organ donors.

Carla Williams, executive director of the New York Alliance for Donation, supported the legislation in a letter to the governor, saying, "We believe that this change in law will reduce confusion about executing a document of gift and hope."