Pass Fair and Timely Parole (S1415/A4231), which would ensure access to the parole release process for incarcerated people in New York State. This bill provides that parole decisions are not solely based on the nature of the original crimes but include incarcerated peoples’ rehabilitation records and assessment of current risk to public safety.

Pass The Clean Slate Act (S1553A/A6399), automatically sealing conviction records so that all New Yorkers can move ahead and fully participate in their communities as thriving citizens.

Pass S3695 to repeal 50-A, which excludes police officers from New York’s Freedom of Information laws.

Pass S5755, extending the ability to register and vote in elections to incarcerated persons currently held in correctional facilities.

Pass S2101A, which will ensure that all defendants not yet convicted of a crime be given the presumption of release.

Eliminate Mandatory Minimums Act; Pass S7871, which will fully and finally undo the harm of the Rockefeller Drug Law era. This legislation would also create a presumption against incarceration, requiring a hearing before any period of incarceration can be imposed.

Pass The Second Look Act (S7872/A8894), which will allow judges to review and reconsider excessive sentences. Under current sentencing laws, incarcerated people have no opportunity to demonstrate to a judge that they have transformed while incarcerated or to seek a reconsideration of their sentences based on changes in law and norms. The Second Look Act will allow incarcerated people to apply for a resentencing hearing after they have served ten years or half of their sentence.

Following the 1994 federal Crime Bill, New York State slashed programs for incarcerated people and dramatically limited the time people could earn off their sentences. I will pass The Earned Time Act (S7873A/A8462B), which will strengthen and expand “good time” and “merit time” laws to encourage personal transformation in prison and reunite families.

Sex workers identify as queer, and a disproportionate number of transgender women engage in sex work. Cisgender and transgender women who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) bear a disproportionate brunt of enforcement of New York laws criminalizing sex work and the adverse consequences that follow. In the State Senate, I will pass S3075, the Stop Violence in the Sex Trades Act.

Pass S6677A, the Gender Identity Respect, Dignity, and Safety Act, which would help keep TGNCNBI people safe by requiring that prisons and jails presumptively house people consistently with their gender identities, with a list of reasons that cannot be used as the basis for a denial; ensuring that staff at facilities respect a person’s gender identity in all contexts, including name and pronoun use and during searches; and mandating access to clothing, toiletry items, and grooming standards consistent with a person’s gender identity.

Pass Elder Parole (S15A/A8855), which would allow elderly incarcerated people who have served at least 15 years in prison an opportunity to appear before the Parole Board for a chance at release, offering an opportunity to reunite families.

Pass S6274B, establishing a pilot program to create an assistance hotline for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and complex behavioral needs.

Pass S7688, which establishes the People with Disabilities Access to Programs Commission to streamline the application process for services offered by New York State agencies, including employment-related services.

Pass S7643, which would establish a refundable personal income tax credit for direct care staff employed by provider agencies.