Assemblyman Josh Jensen (R,C,I-Greece) joined members of the Assembly Minority Conference, Rochester resident Gelsey Randazzo Markese whose grandmother passed away in a nursing home, and senior advocacy group Voices for Seniors to urge their colleagues in the Majority to take action and sign a petition that would carry legal power to subpoena New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard Zucker. 

According to Section 62-A of Legislative Law, if a majority of members on a given committee sign a petition, they then have the authority to issue a subpoena for the individual in question to appear before the committee to answer questions. The press conference called on members of the Assembly Oversight, Health and Aging committees to sign a petition to subpoena Dr. Zucker to testify and release all data on the nursing home deaths and communications regarding the March 25 directive, along with speak on why this information was not shared with the Legislature and the public. 

“Families across the state deserve answers to the many questions they have regarding the nursing home report and decisions made by the Department of Health,” said Jensen. “New Yorkers deserve transparency on the real numbers on nursing home deaths and why the information was not made available to the Legislature and the public.”