{"id":7421,"date":"2025-07-01T10:47:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T14:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=7421"},"modified":"2025-07-01T14:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T18:53:07","slug":"pef-advocacy-on-key-priorities-paves-the-way-for-new-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-6\/pef-advocacy-on-key-priorities-paves-the-way-for-new-legislation\/","title":{"rendered":"PEF advocacy on key priorities paves the way for new legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IJuly 18, 2025 —<\/em> The voices of PEF members were heard during the New York State Legislative Session that concluded in mid-June. From artificial intelligence (AI) to Workers\u2019 Compensation, several PEF-supported bills were signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, and several more await her signature before the end of the calendar year.<\/p>\n

\u201cPEF members worked hard contacting their legislators, writing letters and staying up-to-date on the union’s agenda,\u201d said PEF President Wayne Spence. \u201cThere\u2019s plenty of more work to be done, but we are proud of what we\u2019ve accomplished so far thanks to the advocacy of members.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, three bills backed by PEF became law in 2025. These were signed by the Governor in December 2024.<\/p>\n

Workers\u2019 Compensation for Mental Health<\/strong>: This law amends and expands the Workers\u2019 Compensation Law to include \u201cmental injury\u201d and work-related stress in its coverage of all State workers.<\/p>\n

Ten additional bills supported by PEF passed both houses during the legislative session and await signature by the governor. One addresses harmful workplace practices, another further expands AI regulation, and another includes more information about salary and benefits to news hires when they receive their appointment letters.<\/p>\n

The DOCCS Transparency and Oversight Reform bill <\/strong>would expand the mandatory disclosure of video footage related to the death of an incarcerated individual, conduct a study on the deaths inside correctional facilities, install and maintain more cameras throughout DOCCS facilities, and create a special district attorney to deal with deaths inside facilities. PEF supports it because the union believes transparency and accountability will lead to greater safety for everyone.\u00a0 PEF has also been an active participant in the working group established by Governor Hochul to make recommendations on enhancing overall safety and security in the state\u2019s correctional facilities.\u00a0 PEF, along with the other groups represented on the task force, have developed a package of fair and reasonable recommendations for consideration by the State Legislature to enhance safety and security for everyone in DOCCS facilities.\u00a0 The enactment of these recommendations will remain a top priority for PEF in the 2026-27 Legislative Session.<\/p>\n

Further expansion of The LoADING Act<\/strong> is championed by PEF to extend AI regulations to SUNY, CUNY, local school districts and municipal governments. It would require total human oversight over any AI systems implemented at any of these agencies.<\/p>\n

PEF was also involved in stopping several harmful bills from passing through to the Governor.<\/p>\n

The EmPIRE Act would have privatized Department of Labor enforcement, and another bill would have contracted out services currently performed by PEF members at the Department of Financial Services. A third would have granted the DOCCS commissioner the authority to discipline employees \u2014 up to and including dismissal. PEF successfully argued that this proposal would unnecessarily and unilaterally violate the current due process rights of PEF members.<\/p>\n

PEF members who want to get more involved in the union\u2019s political action or have questions are encouraged to reach out to PEF Legislative Director Patrick Lyons at patrick.lyons@pef.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

July 18, 2025 — The voices of PEF members were heard during the New York State Legislative Session that concluded in mid-June. From artificial intelligence (AI) to Workers\u2019 Compensation, several…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":7427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-7421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-43-no-6"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPEF advocacy on key priorities paves the way for new legislation - PEF Communicator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-6\/pef-advocacy-on-key-priorities-paves-the-way-for-new-legislation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PEF advocacy on key priorities paves the way for new legislation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"July 18, 2025 — The voices of PEF members were heard during the New York State Legislative Session that concluded in mid-June. 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