New York State Assembly

I have read the reports. These are serious allegations. Harassment in the workplace of any kind should not be tolerated.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie today announced that he has appointed Richard F. Braun to serve on the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE).“Mr. Braun has an impressive resume that clearly demonstrates his commitment to the legal...

There was a formal request from Assembly committee chairs and other members to the Department of Health asking for more information on follow up questions in regards to data on nursing homes. The Governor's office communicated to staff that they needed...

Speaker Carl Heastie today announced that the Assembly has created an internal working group to focus on the recovery and future of the state’s mass transit systems as they mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.“Every day, hardworking...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Election Law Committee Chair Latrice Walker today announced the Assembly has passed a package of legislation that will help make conducting elections safer during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Ensuring our elections are free...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Steve Englebright today announced that the Assembly has passed legislation that would allow New Yorkers to vote to amend the New York State Constitution’s Bill of Rights to include...

On behalf of my Assembly Majority colleagues, I would like to congratulate Dr. Betty Rosa for being appointed commissioner of education. Dr. Rosa’s outstanding reputation as an educator and an advocate combined with her proven track record as interim...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Governmental Employees Committee Chair Peter Abbate, Jr. today announced the Assembly has passed legislation to extend the provisions granted last year that ensure families of municipal frontline workers who lost their lives to...

Speaker Carl Heastie, Governmental Employees Committee Chair Peter J. Abbate, Jr. and Assemblymember Charles D. Fall announced today that the Assembly passed legislation granting time off for public and private sector employees to...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Amy Paulin today announced that the Assembly passed legislation repealing the ‘Walking While Trans’ ban, which prohibits loitering for the purpose of prostitution (A.3355, Paulin). This law has been...

Speaker Carl Heastie today announced the appointment of an Assembly internal working group to focus on transitioning New York State’s economy toward a COVID-19 recovery. The working group will be led by Assembly Economic Development, Job Creation,...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Labor Committee Chair Latoya Joyner today announced that the Assembly has passed legislation that would provide New York construction workers with a new remedy against wage theft.“The Assembly Majority has earned its reputation...

Today my colleagues and I in the Assembly Majority passed a resolution commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.Each year, this day serves as a stark reminder of what can happen...

Speaker Carl Heastie today announced that the Assembly will pass legislation to help hard working New Yorkers and small businesses across the state weather the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation will allow workers to collect unemployment...

Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Helene E. Weinstein today announced the Joint Legislative Hearing Schedule on the 2021-22 Executive Budget Proposal.These hearings, each of which focuses on a programmatic...

Today, the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris brings a sense of hope and relief that Americans have desperately needed, especially following nearly a year of immeasurable loss and suffering caused by this global pandemic.We...

This last year, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing financial crisis has put an incalculable strain on New York – on our institutions, our communities and the health and wellbeing of our people. We have lost billions of dollars in revenue, and...

I am proud of the swift action taken by the U.S. House of Representatives today to impeach President Donald J. Trump. A week ago we watched in horror as domestic terrorists incited by the president and his allies flooded the halls of the U.S. Capitol,...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Patricia Fahy today were joined by 75 Assembly Majority colleagues in sending a letter to Congressional leadership urging swift action on articles of impeachment and removal from office of President Donald J. Trump...

January 11, 2021Assembly ChamberAlbany_____________________________________[as prepared]Good afternoon members, staff, interns and guests. No matter where you are joining us from, welcome to the People’s House. Things may look different this year...

I would like to extend my congratulations to Dr. Lester W. Young, Jr. on his election as chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, and applaud the Board of Regents for this excellent and groundbreaking choice. Chancellor Young, who will be the...

Congratulations to former assemblymember and Brooklyn’s own U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer on becoming majority leader of the U.S. Senate. He has spent his career fighting for all New Yorkers, from the shores of Lake Erie to the Long Island Sound....

The violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and our democratic institutions that is occurring right now in Washington is deplorable. In the United States of America, we pride ourselves on a peaceful transition of power. This is domestic terrorism and it is...

Speaker Carl E. Heastie Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes Chair, Ways and Means Helene E. Weinstein Deputy Speaker Catherine Nolan Assistant Speaker Phil Ramos Speaker Pro Tempore Jeffrion L. Aubry Chair,...

I would like to thank my Assembly colleagues for entrusting me to serve as speaker of the People’s House for the fourth time. I am truly humbled by your faith in my leadership. It will undoubtedly be a challenging year, but I am confident...

The Assembly Majority believes that putting families first means ensuring that every hardworking New Yorker is able to earn a living wage. The fight to increase New York’s minimum wage began here in the People’s House. In 2016, my colleagues...

Speaker Heastie today announced the Assembly has passed the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020, which will help New York tenants and homeowners who are struggling to make ends meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic stay in their...

Housing is a basic human right, and that is why I am calling the Assembly into session on Monday, December 28th to take up critical eviction protections for tenants and residential mortgage foreclosure preventions for homeowners.Far too many of our friends...

It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of former Assemblymember William “Bill” Magee. Bill was born and raised in Central New York’s farming communities, and for 28 years in the Assembly, he was a voice and an advocate...

In March of this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Assembly amended the rules of the People’s House to allow the body to convene according to emergency procedures during a declared state or national state of emergency. Today, we will amend...

This was an election cycle unlike any other, but now, almost a month after Election Day, I am happy that we officially know who will be joining us in 2021 in the People’s House. I would like to offer my congratulations and give a warm welcome the...

It is an honor and a privilege to have been nominated by my colleagues in the Assembly Majority to serve as speaker of the People’s House. I am thankful for their unwavering commitment to putting New York families first and their continued...

It is with great sorrow that I learned of the passing of former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, and my heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends and all of those he inspired over the years.Mayor Dinkins was a trailblazer. A man of great...

Speaker Carl Heastie today announced that four new members were sworn in to the New York State Assembly, including Assemblymembers Khaleel M. Anderson, Kenneth Burgos, Sarah Clark and Demond L. Meeks.“Congratulations and welcome to our newest members...

It is with great happiness and pride that I offer my sincerest and most heartfelt congratulations to President-Elect Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Elect Kamala Harris, the first woman and the first woman of color to ever be elected to that office....

Speaker Carl Heastie today announced that Isa Puello has been appointed secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs.“Isa has been an important member of my team for many years, and has done an great job as we faced unprecedented challenges here in New...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Nily Rozic today announced that legislation passed earlier this year to allow all state employees to receive their pay stubs electronically has been signed into law.“In today’s day and age, most people...

I join with my current and former colleagues in mourning the passing of former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. A veteran and an elected official, he was dedicated to serving our country and our state. Although we were on different ends of the ideological...

A New York State government office, the district office of Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, was defiled overnight with hate-filled and grotesque anti-Semitic language. The Assembly Majority has always been very clear that we have a zero tolerance policy...

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie today announced a joint legislative hearing will be held to examine the response failures of various utility companies during the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias. The storm...

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie today announced that he is immediately implementing sanctions recommended by the bipartisan Assembly Ethics and Guidance Committee concerning the conduct of Assemblymember Michael Miller.The Ethics Committee found that Assemblymember...

I would like to offer my sincerest congratulations to my good friend and junior high school classmate Mario Cilento on his re-election as president of the AFL-CIO.For years, Mario has fought to improve the lives and working conditions of the hardworking...

Speaker Carl Heastie today announced that the Assembly has passed legislation to ensure vulnerable New Yorkers have the tools and resources they need to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, and to foster trust and accurately trace the virus in our communities.“New...

Speaker Carl Heastie, Elections Committee Chair Charles Lavine and Assemblymember Latrice Walker today announced that the Assembly passed legislation to make it easier for eligible voters to register to vote by creating a system for automatic voter registration...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Kimberly Jean-Pierre today announced the Assembly has passed legislation to help end discriminatory practices in the real estate industry that disproportionately affect minority homebuyers. This legislation makes...

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie today announced the Legislature has advanced legislation to limit the immunity that was granted in the State Fiscal Year 2020-21 Budget. The new legislation will narrow that...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman today announced the Assembly has passed the Healthy Terminals Act to ensure that airport workers are paid fair wages and have access to benefits including health care.“New York’s airports...

Speaker Carl Heastie, Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow and Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman today announced that the Assembly passed legislation to recognize Juneteenth and Abolition Commemoration Day in New York State.“African American history has too...

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie today announced the Senate and Assembly have passed legislation that offers legal protection to any individual or entity sued for exercising their free speech rights. A “Strategic...

Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Pamela Hunter today announced the Assembly has passed legislation that would enable New Yorkers to make installment payments for many traffic-related fines and fees, helping to ensure they do not lose their driving...