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New York State Assembly opens session, welcomes roughly 21 new members and invites committee meetings
Summary
The Assembly convened for opening business, including a prayer, the pledge, dispensation of the journal, and formal introductions of new members and guests; committees (government operations, housing, ways and means, and rules) were called to meet off the floor to prepare the first calendar.
The New York State Assembly convened for opening business, offering a prayer and the pledge before moving through administrative matters and a series of introductions for newly elected members and visiting guests.
Reverend Donna Veil opened the session with a prayer asking for "fresh energy and new vision and wise insight" for returning and newly elected legislators. After the pledge, a member moved to dispense with further reading of the journal of Friday, January 10; the motion was adopted "without objection," and the journal stood approved.
A lawmaker outlining the day's schedule said the chamber had "a pretty busy day ahead of us," and announced that the government operations, housing, ways and means, and rules committees would meet in the Speaker's Conference Room to prepare the first calendar. The presiding officer also congratulated the newly chosen speaker pro tem, Pam Hunter.
Members used the floor to introduce visitors and advocacy groups. Mister Ramos welcomed community leaders from Long Island, naming representatives from the Long Island Latino Teachers Association, Housing Help, Ronald McDonald House, Make the Road New York, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (New York), and the Health and Welfare Council. Miss Forrest introduced participants associated with the film Sing Sing — including John Divine G. Whitfield, Clarence MacLinn, John Adrian Velasquez, and Sean Dino Johnson — and noted the film’s focus on rehabilitation through the arts. Miss Seawright introduced Diana Cochran and Jennifer Allsup of Francesco's Foundation, describing the foundation’s work on mental-health supports and safe firearm-storage advocacy following the death of Francesco.
The bulk of the session consisted of formal introductions and biographical sketches for incoming and returning members. The chamber heard background and district descriptions for members including Tommy John Scavoni (1st District), Rebecca Cassey (4th District), Kwame O'Farrell (11th District), Noah Burrows (18th District), Judy Griffin (21st District), Lorenda Hooks (35th District), Claire Valdez (37th District), Kalman Yeager (41st District), Michael Lascher (69th District), Jordan Wright (70th District), Amarita Torres (85th District), Patrick Carroll (96th District), Aaron Wieder (97th District), Paula Kaye (100th District), Gabriela Romero (109th District), and several others introduced by the Republican delegation led by Mister Bachman, including Daniel Norberg, Andrea Bailey, Patrick Kliginski, Paul Bologna, Joe Sempulinski, and Andrew Maulder.
The presiding officer formally welcomed the group and remarked, "We may come from different parties, but I think we all ran for office so we could do right by the people of the state of New York." The chamber then recessed to allow the announced committees to meet off the floor and to continue introductions and preparatory work.
The session’s next steps included committee meetings to prepare the first calendar; no formal legislative debates or recorded roll-call votes on bills appeared in the transcript provided.
