Community Update: End of 2024 Legislative Session Update

Dear Friends, 

After a long week in Albany, the 2024 legislative session has come to an end. While we have a lot to be proud of this legislative session, a number of my priorities did not pass both houses and the legislature was presented with new challenges concerning congestion pricing.

I am proud that 22 bills that I sponsored passed both the Senate and Assembly this session. These now await the Governor’s signature. Some of the important bills are described below. 

I am deeply grateful for the many advocates, constituents, and community members who shared their opinions about bills and legislative issues throughout the session. I always welcome your views, whether we agree or not. The voices of my constituents and advocates inform my decisions on legislative and budget matters, and strengthen the process and outcomes. 

Changes to Congestion Pricing: Last week, Governor Hochul abruptly announced the decision to halt the start of congestion pricing in New York City, scheduled to begin on June 30th. Regardless of your views about the congestion pricing plan itself, which I supported (although I think the specifics of the policy are far from perfect), the last-minute decision by the Governor caused serious challenges – the potential loss of revenue for capital projects for the MTA, including Metro-North, possible environmental impacts of encouraging even more car traffic into midtown Manhattan, loss of already appropriated funds in anticipation of Congestion Pricing, and more. I was not in support of an immediate “bailout” for the MTA and believe we should wait for the next MTA Board meeting later in June, where we will see how the appointed board members wish to proceed. After that, I’m open to reviewing a number of scenarios to address this challenge and to ensure that the necessary safety and operational needs of the MTA are met -- we all depend on that!

If there is anything my office can assist you with, please email me at smayer@nysenate.gov or call (914) 934-5250.

Warm regards,
Shelley B. Mayer
State Senator
37th District

Read the full Community Update here.