Monday, March 8, 2010

Victory!

Thank you everyone who called their Representatives and spread the word about H.R. 4247, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act. 
Late last week it passed in the House by a margin of over 100 votes with a remarkable show of bi-partisan support. One of the Justice For All Action
Network's top priorities for this 20th Anniversary year, this legislation is a vital first step toward protecting students with disabilities from abuse
in schools and educational settings. 

New Chair on Task Force for Persons with Disabilities

The Assembly made some committee chair changes late last week which included a new Chair for the Task Force on People with Disabilities, Assemblyman Michael
Cusick (Staten Island).  Assemblyman Cusick has served in the State Assembly since January 2003 and sits on the Transportation, Higher Education, Governmental
Employees, Veterans’ Affairs, and Mental Health committees.  In past years, in recognition of Legislative Disability Awareness Month, Assemblyman Cusick
has sponsored a poster contest for Staten Island students in grades Pre-K through 5th in an effort to promote a heightened awareness of people living with
disabilities. 

A full list of the committee changes announced on Thursday is listed below:

Speaker Silver Announces Appointments To Leadership Positions And Committee Chairs

table with 2 columns and 14 rows
Majority Leadership   

Speaker Pro Tempore  

Peter M. Rivera  

Secretary, Majority Conference  

Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes  

Vice Chair, Majority Steering  

Barbara S. Lifton  
Standing Committees   

Chair, Alcoholism & Drug Abuse  

Amy Paulin  

Chair, Ethics & Guidance  

Daniel O'Donnell  

Chair, Libraries & Education Technology  

Jonathan L. Bing  

Chair, Mental Health  

Felix Ortiz  

Chair, Oversight, Analysis & Investigation  

Michele Titus  

Chair, Small Business  

Adriano Espaillat  

Chair, Veterans Affairs  

William B. Magnarelli  
Task Forces and Legislative Commissions   

Chair, People with Disabilities  

Michael J. Cusick 
table end

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