Message
This legislative session, lawmakers passed eight important pieces of legislation. They will strengthen abortion and gender-affirming care, resist book bans, keep families together, protect checks and balances, and allow New Yorkers to die with dignity.
I am writing to urge you to sign these bills into law.
1. Protect Health Data (S929/A2141)
Getting and providing health care leaves a digital trail. It is collected through fitness apps, phone records, search engines, period tracking apps, and the many other tools that are part of our modern life. The New York Health Information Privacy Act (S929/A2141) ensures that New Yorkers – not big tech companies, bad actors, or government entities – have control over our intimate health information.
2. Shield Gender-Affirming Care Providers (S4914A/A5480B)
The recent Supreme Court decision, U.S. v. Skrmetti, will encourage Trump and hostile states across the country to go after people who seek, provide, and help people access gender-affirming care. New York has a shield law that aims to protect providers, patients, seekers, and their supporters from these attacks. But there are gaps in these protections that unfriendly governments could take advantage of. This bill (S4914A/A5480B) would close those gaps in our current shield laws so that people can access and provide gender-affirming care in New York knowing the state has their backs.
3. Promote Hospital Transparency (S3486/A3862)
A bill passed by the state legislature (S3486/ A3862) would give patients the ability to see whether the hospital in their area provides the care they need – including gender-affirming care. It would also lay the groundwork for increasing the accessibility of gender-affirming care statewide.
4. Fight for the Freedom to Read (S1099/A7777)
Across the country – including in New York – right-wing extremists have aggressively pushed to suppress books about communities of color and LGBTQ people. The Freedom to Read Act (S1099/A7777) would empower school library staff to curate collections that provide students with a wide variety of appropriate materials.
5. Allow Medical Aid in Dying (S138/A136)
Just as people have the right to refuse medical treatment – even when it might extend their life – they should have the right to seek medical aid when they are dying, and medicine cannot prolong their life. The Medical Aid in Dying Act (S138/A136) would – through a tightly regulated process – allow people who are dying to die on their own terms, with dignity.
6. Keep Families Together (S550A/A66)
Child services investigators force a huge number of New York families to endure totally unwarranted, invasive, and traumatizing home searches. Many of these baseless investigations are sparked by false accusations of neglect or abuse. The Anti-Harassment in Reporting Act (S550A/A66) will make it harder for bad actors to use false reports to weaponize the family regulation system against parents and children.
7. Protect Checks and Balances (S.590/A.3665)
State law allows mayors to remove proposals they don’t like from voters’ ballots by convening what’s called a charter revision commission. If that commission submits a ballot question, all other proposals put forward by citizens or the city council are taken off the ballot. This allows mayors to abuse their power and put their thumb on the scale. A bill that passed the state legislature (S.590/A.3665) would remove a mayor’s ability to remove ballot questions using charter revision commissions. This strengthens checks and balances in local democracy.
8. Reform FOIL Laws (S.67/A.6613)
New Yorkers need access to public records to hold the government and politicians accountable. The primary way people can get that information is through Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests. But record requests are frequently denied or overly redacted for no good reason. One bill on your desk reforms state FOIL laws. It clarifies how and when records with redacted information will be released (S.67/A.6613).
Now, more than ever, we need Albany to work for New Yorkers. I urge you to sign these eight critical bills without delay.
