Rebecca Seawright
Rebecca Seawright is the Democratic and Working Families Party incumbent seeking re-election to a seventh term. She chairs the Assembly Aging Committee and sits on Ways and Means, Codes, Higher Education and Judiciary; her legislative focus has centered on aging, disability rights, education funding and the state Equal Rights Amendment.[1][2]
Floor votes in Albany
- 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.
On the record — official actions
- actionAssembly committee assignments for 2025-2026: Chair of the Aging Committee, plus Codes, Higher Education, Judiciary and Ways and Means.[2]
- billWas the Assembly's lead sponsor of the state Equal Rights Amendment; voters ratified it as a ballot referendum in the 2024 general election.[2]
- billSponsors the "Teach LGBT" curriculum bill directing the state Education Department to develop curriculum on the historical treatment and contributions of LGBT people in America.[2]
- billSays her bills requiring hate-crime offenders to undergo tolerance training as a sentencing condition, reinstating the Clean Waterways Fund, capping annual lender fees, and requiring health insurance to cover 3-D mammography at no cost, have been signed into law.[2]
Positions on the issues
- 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.[8]
What they say: Participates in the Assembly's Bipartisan Pro-Choice legislative caucus.[2]
- 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.[4]
What they say: Describes herself as a leading advocate for affordable housing and for landmark housing-reform laws that abolished vacancy decontrol and restricted rent hikes.[2]
- 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.[6][7]
What they say: Participates in the Assembly's Gun Reform legislative caucus.[2]
- 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.[5]
- 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.[9]
- 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.[10]
In their words — priorities
- Aging and disability rights: chairs the Aging Committee and advocates for direct support professionals, including as lead sponsor of legislation to establish a direct-support wage enhancement.[2]
- Education funding: says she has secured more than $1 billion in new state support for public schools in her district.[2]
- Housing: describes herself as a leading advocate for affordable housing and landmark housing-reform laws.[2]
- Voting access: says she secured additional early-voting and Election Day poll sites for the 2020 general election and the 2021 NYC primary.[2]
Background
- First woman elected to represent the 76th Assembly District, first elected in 2014.[2]
- Serves as a Director of the Legislative Women's Caucus and participates in the Bipartisan Pro-Choice, Jewish, Environmental and Gun Reform legislative caucuses.[2]
- Previously chaired the People with Disabilities Committee, the Majority Steering Committee, and the Task Force on Women's Issues, and served as Secretary of the Majority Conference.[2]