NYSBA Adopts 2022 Legislative Priorities
11.9.2021
Lawmakers are gearing up for a busy 2022 Legislative Session, as is the New York State Bar Association’s Department of Governmental Relations. In 2021, the Association saw several legislative wins with the enactment of Less is More, the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act, and the Modernization of the Power of Attorney Statute- all legislative priorities of our membership.
This year, the legislative policy committee received a marked increase in submissions for legislative priorities, and there was no shortage of important topics on which to advocate. The Association’s Executive Committee approved the 2022 State Legislative Priorities, which covers a wide range of issues.
The adopted State Priorities include several proposals that the bar has been advocating on in the previous session, including:
- Repeal of the outdated Judiciary law 470– requiring a physical office in the state to practice;
- Reorganizing the court systems;
- Right to counsel in immigration matters; and
- Increasing the assigned counsel rates to ensure access to justice.
The newly adopted priorities include:
- Mandating vaccination to the fullest extent possible under the law;
- Adopting the Crisis Standards of Care in health care settings;
- Legislation confirming suspension of the statute of limitations during the COVID-19 state of emergency constitutes tolls of such time limits;
- Right to counsel in housing proceedings; and
- Modernizing policing to end harmful policing practices.
The Federal Priorities have also been updated to include Police Reform, Election Reform, support for reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, and support for the Equality Act – long overdue legislation aimed to protect individuals from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. As Congress works through a busy end-of-year agenda, the Department of Government relations will keep membership updated on advocacy efforts and the status of our existing federal priorities, such as student loan relief, Legal Services Corporation funding and broadband access.
As the year winds down, the Governmental Relations Department will ramp up their legislative advocacy on these priorities and other legislative action items important to our membership.
