By Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato
The 2023 New York State Legislative Session has come to a close. This year the Legislature passed a wide array of bills on nearly every topic.
Some of the legislation I worked on dealt with our current governmental employees. Our governmental employees deserve to be protected in every way – and I passed legislation that does that. For example:
A4018-establishes a 20 year retirement plan for certain law enforcement
A4008-ensures that any court officer or peace offered injured from a physical assault during the course of their duties shall be eligible for disability benefits
A6539-provides child care leave-credit for all NYC Sanitation and Correction workers
A7414-guarantees health insurance for the spouses (or domestic partners) of fallen FDNY members
A5208-expands death benefits or accidental disability benefits for correction employees and sheriffs for heart disease
A7669-updates certain death benefit provisions of the New York city employees’ retirement system (NYCERS), the New York city teachers’ retirement system (TRS), and the board of education retirement system of New York City (BERS)
A7155- creates the crediting of probationary service when a person appointed provisionally receives a permanent appointment to the same title.
A7156- implements the automatic enrollment of employees of the city of New York eligible to join the New York City board of education retirement system (BERS)
While protecting current employees, I believe a job with the State or City is a rewarding career. To help expand those opportunities and give residents of our State the chance to work for the greatest State, I introduced and passed legislation that:
A7379- Eliminates the “wartime service” requirement to expand the number of qualified veterans eligible for certain civil service positions
A6855- Requires civil service examination announcements to be issued to the local board of cooperative educational services (BOCES), all high schools, colleges, universities, local social services districts, and job training programs in New York
Of course, I also passed a few bills that were inspired from conversations I had with many of you. I have always believed that the best legislation comes from the community. Those bills included:
A2825-expand and ensure protections for Jamaica Bay with regards to dumping and the filling of borrow pits
A3029-establish an adult Cystic Fibrosis Assistance Program
A4987-require new parents to watch a short video in the hospital on the dangers drowning as drowning is the number one cause of death in children under 4 years old
If you’re interested in seeing the full list of the 40 bills that I passed, please visit my official Assembly webpage assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Stacey-Pheffer-Amato. But now that the 2023 Legislative Session has ended it is good to be home and working directly with all of you to solve any problems. While I might be in Albany for six months, my heart is always in my community. As always, do not hesitate to contact my office by phone at 718-945-9550 or by email at amatos@nyassembly.gov. It is a pleasure to serve you and I look forward to representing you for many more years to come.
Pheffer Amato represents the 23rd Assembly District.
*Edited for space.*
