Shelley In The News
“As chair of the Education Committee, state Sen. Shelley Mayer has been in the thick of debates over everything from school funding to hate speech. Mayer opposed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal on the state’s Foundation Aid formula and championed a study of the complicated school funding process that’s been underway this year. Mayer has also served on the influential Senate Working Rules Group.”
Oct. 15, 2024
State Senator Shelley B. Mayer said, “I am pleased to join President Peña and my colleagues in the Assembly to celebrate the implementation of the ASAP/ACE programs. These important programs, which will provide students at Purchase College and elsewhere in the SUNY system with financial and academic assistance as well as personal support, are the result of the historic $75 million SUNY Transformation Fund that I helped secure with my colleagues in the Senate. College can be a stressful experience, but the ASAP/ACE programs will enable more students in New York State to stay on track, graduate and move toward a successful future.”
Oct. 1, 2024
“Mayer proposed a bill that would require all insurance companies to cover the cost for neuropsychological evaluations for children with cancer. The tests can cost thousands of dollars for families who are already overwhelmed with medical bills.”
Sept. 14, 2024
“The bill was proposed by State Sen. Shelley Mayer of Westchester. “School boards shape the educational experiences of students, but they do not always include the voices of the students they serve,” Mayer said. “This legislation will give students new opportunities to engage with their school community and build habits of civic engagement that will serve them throughout their lives.”
Sept. 10, 2024
“Senator Mayer’s legislation, S.3340 (Mayer) / A.5873 (Lavine), will require courts to report extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs or “red flag laws”) to the statewide computerized registry of orders of protection and warrants of arrest. This legislation will increase protections for the public at large, and particularly victims of domestic and sexual violence, by ensuring law enforcement throughout New York have access to critical public safety information.”
Aug. 31, 2024
State Senator Shelley B. Mayer said, “I am pleased that New York State is taking important steps to ensure all New Yorkers have equal access to voting and voter information. This bill was essential in order to correct an inconsistency between village and election law to ensure villages in New York State have proper time to put referendums on their November ballots. I thank the local officials who brought this to Assemblyman Otis and my attention and Governor Kathy Hochul for signing it into law.”
Aug. 26, 2024
State Senator Shelley B. Mayer said,“I am proud to secure $125,000 in state funding for Westchester Jewish Community Services to assist them with their group homes and ParentChild+ Program. The group homes provide members of the community with developmental disabilities with the critical service and support they need to live to their fullest potential.”
July 30, 2024
State Senator Shelley B. Mayer said, “I am pleased I was able to help the Scarsdale Police Department with a state grant toward the purchase of two police motorcycles. It is important that our police officers have all the resources they need to keep our communities safe.”
July 25, 2024
“New York State Senator Shelley B. Mayer announced her bill, S.8331, to establish January 30 as a day of commemoration known as “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” has passed the Senate unanimously. Coinciding with the passage of this bill, Senator Mayer welcomed Koji Sato, Takeshi “Tak” Furumoto, and Carolyn Furumoto to Albany to be honored by the New York State Legislature for their work preserving the memory of Fred Korematsu and promoting knowledge of Japanese-American History. “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” will be the first day of commemoration in New York State law for an Asian American.”
May 28, 2024
“Senator Shelley Mayer (D, Westchester) is recognizing Joan Grangenois-Thomas as her nominee for the 2024 Woman of Distinction award. Grangenois-Thomas for her dedication and service to the Senate District 37 community.
The Senate Women of Distinction program was created in 1998 to honor women across New York State for their achievements and accomplishments. The honorees are women who have made enriching contributions to both their local communities and the state.”
May 15, 2024
“New York State Senator Shelley Mayer, speaking to delegates at the 52nd Representative Assembly in New York City on Saturday, said she is “so very fortunate to be an ally and a friend in the fight” for strong public schools.”
May 4, 2024
“State Sen. Shelley Mayer and State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins announced four new laws in the new budget on Tuesday aimed at providing resources to combat retail theft.”
April 23, 2024
“State Sen. Shelley Mayer, chairwoman of the Senate education committee, said in an interview Monday she and her colleagues fought for a higher inflationary factor than what Hochul proposed when determining aid.”
April 23, 2024
“Senator Shelley B. Mayer and Assemblymember Nily Rozic announced that their previously enacted legislation to ban the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and supplements for weight loss to children under 18, will take effect on April 22. This first-in-the-nation law will protect children under 18 from the risks of over-the-counter diet pills and supplements for weight loss or muscle-building.”
April 22, 2024
“State Sen. Shelley Mayer chairs the Education Committee, which involves ensuring that New York schools are adequately funded and children get a quality education – and that educators are fairly compensated as well. Mayer spoke with City & State about reversing proposed education cuts, boosting career and technical education and the expanding role public schools play in combating poverty.”
March 4, 2024
“Thank you for fighting with us,” Mayer said. “This is a fight. This is not a calm thing. This is a passionate thing. This is a thing that goes to the heart of what we do as elected officials, as parents, as teachers and people who live in this community. This is unacceptable and we will not stand for it.”
March 4, 2024
“The centerpiece of this legislative odyssey is the establishment of an Office of Flood Prevention and Mitigation, a brainchild of State Sen. Shelley Mayer. This office is envisioned as the state’s bastion against the surging tides, coordinating flood prevention initiatives and honing the state’s response to flooding incidents. This move acknowledges the intricate dance between human habitation and the natural world, seeking to choreograph a harmony where currently there exists a discord.”
Feb. 21, 2024
“Education funding is one of the largest sources of state spending and this year is no different. Fresh off a marathon budget hearing on propped education funding is the chair of the Senate Education Committee, Yonkers Democratic state Sen. Shelley Mayer, who joined Capital Tonight on Friday.”
Feb. 2, 2024
“The first thing is that we want: Foundation aid to be fully funded with the inflationary factor, because schools are facing a potential drop-off of federal funds. There is a significant inflationary factor, and it’s going to be expensive. I’ve just finished a tour of about 11 school districts throughout the state. Urban, rural, suburban schools are doing very innovative and creative things to address social emotional health and academic learning loss — and to ensure that students graduate really prepared. But those things all cost money. So we have to have the full funding of foundation aid.”
Jan. 9, 2024
“Sens. Shelley Mayer and Pete Harckham on Thursday announced they’re promoting a bill that would designate regional state offices to address climate change effects. The announcement was made at the site of the former community resource center in Mamaroneck, which was destroyed in Hurricane Ida. If the bill is passed, the Office of Flooding Prevention and Mitigation and the Office of Equity for Energy and Climate Change would help residents address severe flood damage and its financial burdens.”
Dec. 15, 2023
“Mayer said that after the fall of Roe v. Wade, many blue states passed shield laws protecting women who received an abortion in-state, but substantial obstacles still faced people living out of state, especially poor people and people of color.
‘No way would they have the money, the time, the child care, and lose everything in order to go to another state,’ Mayer said. ‘We have to do everything we can for these women who, just by fortune, live in another state that has Republican state legislature.’
Mayer emphasized the importance of voter action, explaining that the majority of impactful legislation is created at the local and state levels. She said she believes it is crucial to appeal to women who don’t traditionally vote.
‘We have to organize in order to educate and inform that they’re going to lose their rights if they don’t fight back at the state level, Mayer said.”
Nov. 28, 2023
“State Senate Education Committee Chair Shelley Mayer is always in the thick of perennial school funding battles, and this year passed legislation on school voter registration and pre-registration programs.”
Nov. 13, 2023
“NYS Senator Shelley Mayer and Assemblyman Steve Otis took an opportunity to show off firsthand how new legislation they co-sponsored might change the way municipalities and property owners think about managing New York’s shoreline.
The lawmakers hosted a press conference on Tuesday to celebrate the ‘Living Shorelines’ legislation being signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The new law will require the Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to encourage the use of nature-based solutions as the preferred approach for stabilizing tidal shorelines in the oversight and regulatory decisions of the agency.
‘After Hurricane Ida, many constituents reached out to me for assistance with flood damage. I was happy my office could help individuals but the systemic impact of climate change requires much more. As the community rebuilds once again following the devastating storm this past week, we need to be proactive about increasing resilience and protecting against future flooding. This legislation will empower DEC to encourage the use of nature-based solutions, strengthening our shorelines and communities.’ – Mayer”
Oct. 4, 2023
“Participation in student government is a direct, hands-on way for young people to experience and learn the value of representational democracy,” said State Senator Shelley Mayer (D, Westchester). “I am pleased every high school student in New York State will have the opportunity to participate in student government and learn that their voices are important, and that they have the right — and the obligation — to participate directly in our democracy.”
Sept. 10, 2023
“Sen. Shelley Mayer, a Westchester Democrat who chairs the Senate Education Committee, sponsors legislation that would require AEDs at camps and youth sports games and practices and told Capital Tonight that legislation like this is designed to ‘give parents confidence that when their child plays on one of these teams, that someone is there watching over them and ensuring that if something bad happens an AED will be available.’”
July 28, 2023
“Mayer traveled to Washington D.C. this past week to join the White House Panel on Reproductive Health. WAMC’s Lucas Willard spoke to Mayer about her legislation and her thoughts on other high-profile bills in the 2023 legislative session.”
June 18, 2023