Statement from Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie Feb 24, 2021 I have read the reports. These are serious allegations. Harassment in the workplace of any kind should not be tolerated.
Speaker Heastie Appoints New Member to Joint Commission on Public Ethics Feb 19, 2021 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...
Statement from Assembly Director of Communications Michael Whyland Feb 12, 2021 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 Heastie Announces Assembly Post-COVID Mass Transit Working Group Feb 11, 2021 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...
Assembly Passes Legislation to allow N.Y. to More Safely Conduct Elections During the COVID-19 Pandemic Feb 9, 2021 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...
Assembly Passes Legislation to Amend N.Y. Constitution's Bill of Rights to Include a Right to Clean Air and Water Feb 8, 2021 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on Selection of Dr. Betty Rosa as Commissioner of Education Feb 8, 2021 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...
Assembly Passes Legislation to Extend Death Benefits to Families of Municipal Frontline Workers Feb 3, 2021 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...
Assembly Passes Legislation Granting Employees Time Off to Receive Vaccinations Feb 3, 2021 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...
Assembly Passes Repeal of the Walking While Trans Ban Feb 2, 2021 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 Heastie Announces Assembly Working Group on Transitioning N.Y. Economy Toward COVID-19 Recovery Jan 28, 2021 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,...
Assembly Passes Legislation to Help Construction Workers Recover Stolen Wages Jan 26, 2021 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day Jan 26, 2021 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...
Assembly to Pass Legislation to Help Workers and Small Businesses Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic Jan 26, 2021 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...
Legislature Announces Joint Budget Hearing Schedule Jan 20, 2021 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...
Speaker Heastie on the Inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris Jan 20, 2021 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on the Executive Budget Proposal for FY 2021-22 Jan 19, 2021 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on the House of Representatives Impeaching President Trump Jan 13, 2021 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 Heastie, Assemblymember Fahy and 75 Assembly Majority Members Send Letter to Congress Urging Them to Remove President Trump from Office Jan 12, 2021 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...
The Remarks of Speaker Carl E. HeastieOpening the 244th Legislative Session Jan 11, 2021 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on Election of Dr. Lester W. Young, Jr. as Board of Regents Chancellor Jan 11, 2021 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement Congratulating U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer Jan 6, 2021 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....
Speaker Heastie Statement on the Unrest at the U.S. Capitol Jan 6, 2021 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 Heastie Announces Leadership Positions and Committee Chairs for 2021 Legislative Session Jan 6, 2021 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,...
Heastie Re-Elected New York State Assembly Speaker Jan 6, 2021 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on Minimum Wage Increase Dec 30, 2020 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...
Assembly Passes Legislation to Keep New Yorkers in Their Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic Dec 28, 2020 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on December 28th Session and Passing Critical Legislation to Protect New Yorkers from Eviction and Foreclosure During the COVID-19 Pandemic Dec 27, 2020 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on the Passing of Former Assemblymember William Magee Dec 26, 2020 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...
Statement from Speaker Heastie on December Session Dec 21, 2020 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...
Speaker Heastie Welcomes New Members to the Assembly Majority Dec 2, 2020 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...
Assembly Majority Nominates Carl Heastie as Speaker Nov 30, 2020 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on Passing of Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins Nov 24, 2020 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 Heastie Announces Four New Members Sworn In to Assembly Nov 12, 2020 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement Congratulating President-Elect Biden and Vice President Elect Harris Nov 7, 2020 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 Heastie Announces Staff Appointment Oct 30, 2020 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...
Legislation to Allow All State Employees to Receive Online Pay Stubs Signed into Law Oct 8, 2020 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 todays day and age, most people...
Speaker Heastie Statement on the Passing of Former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno Oct 7, 2020 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on Hate-Motivated Vandalism of a New York State Government Office Aug 11, 2020 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 And Assembly to Hold Joint Legislative Hearing on Utilities' Failure During Recent Storm Aug 9, 2020 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...
Speaker Carl Heastie Implements Sanctions Against Assemblymember Michael Miller Aug 6, 2020 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...
Speaker Heastie Statement on the Re-Election of Mario Cilento as President of the AFL-CIO Aug 4, 2020 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...
Assembly Passes Legislation to Help Support Vulnerable New Yorkers During the COVID-19 Pandemic Jul 24, 2020 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...
Assembly Passes Legislation Creating Automatic Voter Registration Jul 24, 2020 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...
Assembly Passes Legislation Protecting New Yorkers from Discrimination by Real Estate Brokers and Agents Jul 24, 2020 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 and Assembly Majorities Advance Legislation Limiting Immunity for Health Care Services Jul 23, 2020 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...
Assembly Passes the Healthy Terminals Act Jul 22, 2020 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 Yorks airports...
Assembly Passes Legislation Recognizing Abolition Commemoration Day and Juneteenth in New York State Jul 22, 2020 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 and Assembly Majorities Advance Anti-SLAPP Legislation to Protect Free Speech Jul 22, 2020 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...
Assembly Passes Legislation to Provide That New York Drivers Will Not Lose License for Inability to Pay Certain Traffic Fees and Fines Jul 22, 2020 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...