Senator Jamaal T. Bailey was elected to the New York State Senate on November 8th, 2016. He serves the 36th Senatorial district, which covers the Bronx neighborhoods of Woodlawn, Williamsbridge, Co-op City, Wakefield, Baychester and the Westchester city of Mount Vernon. He is the newly appointed Chairman of the Insurance committee; and a member of the Codes; Rules; Finance; Judiciary; Crime Victims, Crime and Correction; Joint Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction & Overdose Prevention; and Select Majority Task Force on Diversity in the Judiciary committees.
Senator Bailey dedicated his first term in office to advocating for criminal justice reform. He has spearheaded speedy trial, bail, and discovery reform in the senate. In the 2019 budget, he was able to achieve reforms in all three areas. Under his leadership, he was able to repeal the “Blindfold Law” and implement open and automatic discovery. Additionally he was able to ensure that defendants will be entitled to a speedy trial.
He was able to spearhead monumental police reforms in the legislature, including the repeal of CRL 50-A, which served as a bar to police disciplinary records. Senator Bailey also passed legislation codifying the Attorney General serving as a Special Prosecutor in the event of police-involved killings, legislation that requires that police must report a weapon discharge within 6 hours, and that police must provide for the medical & mental health needs of those under arrest or in custody who require it.
From a young age, Jamaal was involved in his community. He played in North Bronx Little League, has been a member of the Butler Memorial United Methodist Church, and is a member of the Williamsbridge Branch of the NAACP. During his senior year at SUNY Albany, he served as an intern for New York State Assemblyman, Speaker Carl Heastie where he was able to immerse himself in the legislative process, coming up with an idea for legislation that ultimately became law. Prior to his election in the State Senate, Jamaal served as the Community Relations Director for Speaker Heastie and as the District Leader of the 83rd Assembly District for six years.
Senator Bailey is a lifelong resident of the 36th District. He grew up in the Wakefield section of the Bronx and attended P.S. 83 in Morris Park and later attended MS 181 in Co-op City. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from SUNY Albany and received his law degree from CUNY School of Law. Above all, Jamaal is a dedicated family man who lives with his wife, Giamara, their two young daughters, and son in Baychester, where he continues to live out the advice of his family- that one can only get out of their community what they put into it.