2021 New York State Legislative Session Showed Progress on Many City Bar-Supported Bills

The New York State Legislature wrapped up its session in June, closing out another extremely busy year of legislative work. The City Bar’s active policy and advocacy component is driven and guided by the work of our committees, and we are pleased to report that, as of today, over 20 bills supported by the City Bar have passed both houses, covering issues of: criminal justice reform, nonprofit law, state court litigation, animal welfare, consumer protection, health and substance use, family law, agreements governed by LIBOR, and the enforcement of foreign money judgments. A number of these bills have already been signed into law by the Governor, but the majority will need to be further advocated in the coming months to ensure they are enacted. A list of bills supported by our committees that passed the Legislature can be found here.

City Bar Senior Policy Counsel Maria Cilenti, Director of Advocacy Elizabeth Kocienda, and Policy Counsel Mary Margulis-Ohnuma discuss how they work with the Association’s 150-plus committees to take and advocate positions on a wide range of local, national, and international issues; how they’ve adapted their work during the pandemic; and some of the issues addressed in recent months.