[BwayDems] JUNE 2018 Special Post-Session Legislative Briefing

Wed Jun 27 18:27:49 EDT 2018

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JUNE 2018 Special Post-Session Legislative Briefing

Last week, the legislative session ended.

 During session, my Senate Democratic colleagues and I fought tremendously for the passage of common sense legislation that would make our great state fairer, freer, and safer in the form of gun safety reform; voting reform; criminal justice reform; protecting women’s health and rights; campaign finance reform; anti-sexual harassment reform; and the extension and expansion of the NYC school zone speed camera program.  

 Our Senate Republican colleagues prevented us from passing these critical legislative efforts that would move New York State forward and that would provide necessary protections to our fellow New Yorkers from the Trump administration’s unjust policies.

 I am proud to share with you that I was very active - on your behalf - in Albany on a number of issues where I served as bill sponsor.  And, a number of these bills were passed in the Senate.

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S8141a requires the MTA to notify community boards 90 days in advance of any planned closing of a subway station for renovation or repair for community board districts within 1/2 a mile of the impacted station, when such facility will be out-of-service for ninety days or longer.  The purpose of the bill is to to improve community awareness of planned disruptions in subway service and to minimize the inconvenience to the community. This bill passed in both the Senate and the Assembly.

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S6733A requires the board of elections to provide additional notice and information to voters before a special election by requiring voting notification through a post on the board of elections website not less than two weeks prior to a special election. This bill passed in the Assembly.

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S8785 - which was done in memory of Elijah Silvera, a 3-year-old boy who died last November at a New York City daycare due to exposure to milk, to which he was allergic - establishes an anaphylactic policy for all child day care centers, including a procedure and treatment plan, a training course focused on food allergies and responding to anaphylaxis, and other important elements of education for staff about food allergies. This is currently the law for K-12 schools in NY State,but not child care centers or preschools. The bill passed in the Senate.

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S9122 establishes a local merit time allowance program that will allow incarcerated individuals who participate in programs and maintain a good disciplinary record to have the opportunity to earn credit time off of their jail sentences.  The program provides an incentive for good behavior and discipline within jails; and, it would help make jails safer for those who are incarcerated as well as staff.

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S7933 provides for full restoration of accrued sick leave for a state   
 employee who is separated from state service and regains employment   
 with a community college within one year of the date of separation from   
 state service.  This bill passed in both the Senate and the Assembly.

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S8414 designates the New York Academy of Medicine as a "dormitory" and   
 "educational institution" for purposes of the Dormitory Authority Act and authorizes the dormitory authority to provide financing to the New York Academy of Medicine for the purpose of acquisition, construction, improvement, etc. of dormitories and attendant facilities.  This bill passed in both the Senate and the Assembly.

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S7776 requires public retirement systems to post minutes of Board meetings subject to the Open Meetings Law on a publicly-available website.  This bill passed in the Senate.

Additionally, this session, I was able to secure three $100,000 grants in our district to support:

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Minority-and-women-owned business entrepreneurship through the creation of The Dream Center’s Technological Hub for its LIVE (Live. Innovate. Visualize. Engage.) Program, a program that assists dreamers with their start-up and small business goals by providing them with the resources (such as a technological collaborative working space that is outfitted with high speed WiFi, high powered desktops and laptops, video production, etc.), mentoring, andcourses needed to start and grow their businesses.     

   - Employment training for young adults through the creation of Street Corner Resources, Inc.’s “Here to Help Focus on Employment” Mobile Unit, a mobile unit that will deliver employment services to residents of the community “where they are” through on the spot resume preparation and job search; education and skills assessment; actual job interviews; group and individual coaching; and resource referrals.   

   - Workforce development by helping to fund the construction build out for Operation Equivalency’s facility expansion, which will enable the organization to grow its Workforce Development Department that provides Core, Plumbing and HVAC training to the community utilizing the NCCER state approved curriculum.

On Saturday, June 23, I joined Rev. Al Sharpton, elected officials, civil rights leaders and faith leaders for a #FamiliesBelongTogether rally that called on the Trump Administration to immediately provide a concrete and transparent timelineregarding how and when families that were separated at the border will be reunited.  

 In my own senatorial district, there are 239 children who have been brought from the border to the  Cayuga Centers in East Harlem, with the youngest being just 9 months old. Another young child, who is just 9 years-old, took a 2,000 mile-long bus ride to get here.

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Late Tuesday, Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California granted a preliminary injunction sought by the American Civil Liberties Union on this issue. Under the ruling, "all migrant children separated from their parents must be returned to their families within 30 days, allowing just 14 days for the return of children under age 5. He also ordered that parents be allowed to speak by phone with their children within 10 days."
 Federal judge orders reunification of migrant families,
 Washington Post
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My mother came to this country on a student visa, and I couldn’t imagine the trauma to her and myself if we were forcibly separated when I was a young boy.  These families belong together, and I will continue to stand up and speak out on this issue until unification for all impacted families becomes a reality.

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