Four for Fall at the End of His First Legislative Session
Assembly Charles D. Fall (D-Richmond) states, One of my life mottos is, start strong, finish even stronger. In the waning hours of the 2019 Legislative Session I was able to pass 4 of my priority bills with overwhelming bi-partisan support.
- A.4784-C/ S. 2836-C (Sen. Savino); Assembly vote (130-0)/Senate Vote (62-0);
Entitled Maries Law for a young girl in my district, the intent of the very first piece of legislation that I drafted as the representative to the 61st Assembly District is to address an existing loophole whereby former victims of abuse who are related and may come into contact with a registered offender may be further exposed to his or her abuser. No child, no human should have to worry about being victimized over and over again.
- A.8020/S.6354 (Sen. Comrie); Assembly Vote (148-0)/Senate vote (47-14); extends the MTA Mentor Program for an additional 10 years.
Our legislation will extend the MTA Small Business Development Program which includes the Small Business Mentoring Program that has changed the economic landscape of NY by giving small businesses a unique chance to learn, earn and grow. The program will be extended for 10 years until December 31, 2029. The existing program has already provided public work contract opportunities for small businesses including many NYS certified Minority and Women-Owned Businesses throughout the five boroughs of New York.
- A.7250-B/S.6600 (Sen. Bailey); Assembly vote (118-0)/Senate (62-0); entitled the Trampoline Regulatory Bill.
Our legislation intent is to regulate the commercial trampoline park industry and increase the safety standards for families in New York State. Currently there is no regulation of this industry in New York State. We have seen a nationwide spike in injuries and emergency room visits. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2013 there were 2,500 reported injuries and by 2017 there were 17,800 related injuries. In the same report, emergency room visits shot up from 2,500 in 2013 to almost 18,000 in 2017.
- A.8035/S.6469 (Sen. Ramos); Assembly vote (147-1)/Senate vote (58-4);
Under current law "employer" is defined and provides conditions for "terms of coverage" but both do not address situations where an individual is paid by one entity but performs services for another entity. This affects many employees who work on behalf of placement agencies.
Our legislation would amend the Labor Law to define the title "employer" for those employees that perform services for an employer through another entity, namely a placement agency. The legislation would clarify this issue and assure that any New Yorker that is willing to work and provide for their families are fairly compensated if they were to qualify for unemployment insurance.
Both the Assembly and Senate continued to progress for all New Yorkers by passing affordable housing protections for tenants, assist workers with stolen wages, enable sexual abuse survivors to seek justice, reforms to protect against workplace harassment, reforms to assist Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, enabling adoptees access to their birth certificates and decriminalization of marijuana charges.
I am encouraged with the success of my first term as the Assembly representative of the 61st Assembly District. We still have a lot of work to do when it comes to accessible public transportation, education, addressing the opioid epidemic, public and school safety and affordable housing.
I am confident that my colleagues and I will continue to fight on these very issues and many more that will positively effect the livelihood of all New Yorkers, said Fall.