Jo Anne Simon

• YesProvides that a microbusiness licensee authorized to conduct retail sales may serve as a processor and cultivator for purposes of cannabis showcase event permits · S10113 · Passed Assembly 88–53 · 2026-06-05 official record ↗Provides that a microbusiness licensee authorized to conduct retail sales may serve as a processor and cultivator for purposes of cannabis showcase event permits.
• YesRelates to granting employees access to personnel records · S3460 · Passed Assembly 92–49 · 2026-05-19 official record ↗Grants employees access to personnel records; requires notice of negative information in such records and an opportunity for a review; permits employee to include certain information in personnel records.
• YesConcealed Carry Improvement Act · S51001 · Passed 90–52 · 2022-07-01 official record ↗Enacted after the Bruen decision: added training and character requirements for carry permits and barred guns in designated sensitive places.
• Yes2021–22 budget revenue bill · S2509 · Passed 88–61 · 2021-04-07 official record ↗Raised personal income tax rates on incomes above $1 million and raised the corporate franchise tax rate on large businesses, among other revenue measures.
• YesProtect Our Courts Act · A2176 · Passed 97–44 · 2020-07-20 official record ↗Bars federal civil immigration arrests of people going to, attending, or leaving New York courthouses without a judicial warrant.
• YesClimate Leadership and Community Protection Act · S6599 · Passed 111–35 · 2019-06-20 official record ↗Set statewide targets of 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and an 85% cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.
• YesHousing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 · S6458 · Passed 95–46 · 2019-06-14 official record ↗Made rent regulation permanent, ended vacancy decontrol and the vacancy bonus, and limited rent increases for major capital improvements.
• YesExtreme risk protection orders (red-flag law) · S2451 · Passed 100–37 · 2019-01-29 official record ↗Allows courts to temporarily bar people found to pose a danger to themselves or others from possessing firearms.
• YesReproductive Health Act · S240 · Passed 95–49 · 2019-01-22 official record ↗Moved abortion from the penal code to the public-health law and protected access to abortion under state law.

Votes on landmark laws since 2019, plus 2026 roll calls where at least five members voted on the losing side — read from the legislature’s official records.

• actionChairs the Assembly's Mental Health Committee and serves as a member of the Higher Education Committee in the 2025–2026 session.[3]
• bill2025-06-10 · Prime sponsor, with State Senator Liz Krueger, of the Customer Savings and Reliability Act, introduced June 10, 2025, which would end the "100-foot rule" requiring utilities to subsidize new gas-line extensions and amend the gas-service mandate on an opt-out, regional basis.[9]
• bill2025-12-16 · Prime sponsor of A6004, the Local Input in Community Healthcare Act, requiring advance public notice, a community forum and disclosure before a hospital or critical care unit closes; passed the Assembly and Senate twice, and was vetoed by Governor Hochul in December 2025 after an earlier 2024 veto.[11]
• billSponsors a large number of bills each session as a senior Brooklyn Democrat, including A08222 (extending the statute of limitations for certain deed-theft lawsuits and reviving time-barred claims), A10648 (the "utility shutoff protection act") and A03614 (the "New York Stock Act," barring public officers and employees from trading on nonpublic information gained through their official position); as of January 2026 these remained in committee without floor votes.[4]

• ✓SupportsStronger rent regulation and tenant protectionsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S6458 (Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, 2019-06-14): Made rent regulation permanent, ended vacancy decontrol and the vacancy bonus, and limited rent increases for major capital improvements.[13]

  What they say: Joined tenants and a city council member to press a landlord over conditions at rent-stabilized buildings, calling for repairs and protection of tenants' right to stay, and said protecting remaining rent-stabilized housing is increasingly important.[6]

  “In this increasingly expensive neighborhood, protecting our remaining rent-stabilized housing is more important than ever... I will fight with the tenants of the Riverside Buildings for repairs, accountability, and the right to stay safely in their homes.”

• ✓SupportsFaster transition away from fossil fuelsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S6599 (Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, 2019-06-20): Set statewide targets of 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and an 85% cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.[14]

  What they say: Opposed efforts to roll back New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, condemned state approval of the NESE gas pipeline, and co-sponsored legislation to move customers off gas infrastructure toward cheaper, cleaner heating alternatives.[7][8]

  “Rolling back New York's signature climate law would move the state in the wrong direction. We should be accelerating investments in affordable energy that creates jobs and builds a healthier future.”

• ✓SupportsStricter gun lawsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S2451 (Extreme risk protection orders (red-flag law), 2019-01-29): Allows courts to temporarily bar people found to pose a danger to themselves or others from possessing firearms. Voted yes on S51001 (Concealed Carry Improvement Act, 2022-07-01): Enacted after the Bruen decision: added training and character requirements for carry permits and barred guns in designated sensitive places.[15][16]

• ✓SupportsProtect legal access to abortionFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S240 (Reproductive Health Act, 2019-01-22): Moved abortion from the penal code to the public-health law and protected access to abortion under state law.[17]

• ✕OpposesExpand immigration enforcement and deportationsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on A2176 (Protect Our Courts Act, 2020-07-20): Bars federal civil immigration arrests of people going to, attending, or leaving New York courthouses without a judicial warrant.[18]

• ✓SupportsRaise taxes on high earners or corporationsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S2509 (2021–22 budget revenue bill, 2021-04-07): Raised personal income tax rates on incomes above $1 million and raised the corporate franchise tax rate on large businesses, among other revenue measures.[19]

• Preserving rent-stabilized housing: "In this increasingly expensive neighborhood, protecting our remaining rent-stabilized housing is more important than ever."[6]
• Shifting New York off gas infrastructure toward affordable energy: "We should be accelerating investments in affordable energy that creates jobs and builds a healthier future."[7]
• Expanding non-police mental health crisis response: "Tragedies like this underscore the need for greater investment in preventive care and an evidence-based response to mental health crises... We cannot continue to ask police officers to function as mental health care providers."[10]

• Grew up in a working-class family in Yonkers, NY, the daughter of Italian immigrants; was the first in her family to attend college.[2]
• Earned a bachelor's degree in Communication Sciences from Iona College, a master's degree in Education of the Deaf from Gallaudet University, and a law degree from Fordham University School of Law, completed at night while working full-time.[2]
• Worked as a judicial law secretary and taught in Hofstra University School of Law's clinical program before founding a disability civil rights law firm in Downtown Brooklyn; is also an adjunct assistant professor of law at Fordham.[2]
• Served as President of the Boerum Hill Association and was a founder or co-founder of several Brooklyn civic organizations, including BrooklynSpeaks.net and the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods.[2]
• Elected female District Leader and State Committeewoman for the 52nd Assembly District in 2004, before her 2014 election to the Assembly succeeding Joan Millman.[1][2]