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New York’s Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus is made up of 80 members of the state Senate and Assembly from across the state, and looks to examine how the legislative process impacts members of those communities.
Each year for more than two decades, the caucus has issued their legislative priorities for the upcoming session known as “The People’s Budget."
Assemblymember Michaelle Solages chairs the caucus. She said the list of items is directly tied to the 2024 election.
“This election that passed was a loud cry for us to tackle the affordability crisis,” she said. “Making sure that we expand rental assistance to prevent homelessness and support housing stability. We’re talking about changing the tax code when it comes to estate taxes, so that it’s more fair.”
Also priorities: the working families tax credit and ensuring any changes to the Foundation Aid education formula take into account the modern needs of school districts.
“We have more multi-language learners in our communities,” she said. “We have a civil rights issue where we’re not providing an adequate education for those who are disabled."
On immigration, there’s a push to pass legislation to provide legal representation to individuals facing deportation, a effort she says has grown more urgent since Election Day.
“As a caucus, we understand that there is due process and individuals should have representation to fight against this,” she said.
Assemblymember Brian Maher is one of two Republican members of the caucus. Maher’s mother is Puerto Rican. He told Spectrum News 1 that being a member is an important way for him to honor his heritage and establish relationships with fellow lawmakers.
He stressed that while there are areas where he agrees with his majority colleagues, he feels the Access to Representation act an example of Democratic lawmakers being out of touch with New Yorkers.
“Everyone believes in being a human being and helping those in need, but to put this much funding toward individuals who are not U.S. citizens, people have a problem with that,” he said.
Maher, who praised Solages for making room for differing voices within the caucus, also praised the work the group does on family issues. He said that includes pushing to address the child care crisis through assistance to families and workforce development, but he argued that needs to be more done to allow child care businesses to thrive.
“I’d like to see as much investment into the business model of our child care facilities as we are putting into families and the work force,” he said.
Another hot button issue facing the caucus is criminal justice reform.
“That means funding educational programs in correctional facilities, or figuring out how we can create a pathway to get people back into jobs,” Solages said.
Included in the agenda are structural reforms to parole laws, as well as a push for expanded oversight of New York’s prisons through the Correctional Association of New York. Solages said those reforms have increased significance in the wake of the death of an incarcerated man at Marcy Correctional Facility last month after a violent encounter with corrections officers, and that the caucus is weighing further legislative response.
Other topline items include enhancing temporary disability insurance and SNAP benefits.
