Jabari Brisport: Legislative Record
Committee Assignments
Brisport serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Children and Families, a position he has held since his first term . He also sits on the following committees: Banks, Codes, Housing Construction and Community Development, the Joint Senate Task Force on Opioids Addiction and Overdose Prevention, Libraries, and Procurement and Contracts .
Children and Families
Brisport's signature legislative initiative is the Universal Child Care Act. First introduced as S3245 in the 2023-2024 session, the bill would create a task force to develop an implementation framework for a phased rollout of universal child care, establish a permanent child care workforce pay equity fund, and launch a public option pilot program . The bill was reintroduced with amendments as S3415A in the 2025-2026 session . As of 2026, the legislation has not been enacted into law.
He has also sponsored legislation to establish caseload limits for child protective services and foster care workers (S6227 and S2587), and to require social services districts to develop family assessment and services tracks for certain case types .
Foster Care and Youth Services
Brisport introduced S5419B to increase the monthly rent subsidy for foster youth living independently from $300 to $725 and to extend eligibility from age 21 to 24 . The bill passed the State Senate but was not passed by the Assembly . He subsequently introduced S7291 to establish a universal basic income pilot for youth aging out of foster care . He has also sponsored legislation to reserve a proportion of affordable housing lottery units for eligible former foster youth .
Housing
During his first term, Brisport supported legislation to restrict foreclosures and evictions for two years (S50001), to designate certain Brooklyn zip codes as Cease and Desist Zones (S2929B), and to provide protections against unjust foreclosures (S5473D) . He has introduced the Fight Deed Theft Package, a set of four bills targeting deed theft in Brooklyn . He has co-sponsored the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act and Good Cause Eviction legislation .
Climate and Energy
Brisport co-sponsored the Build Public Renewables Act (S4134/S6453C), which was signed into law and authorized the New York Power Authority to build, own, and operate renewable energy generation, storage, and transmission infrastructure . He has introduced legislation to prohibit teacher pension funds from investing in fossil fuel companies .
Criminal Justice
Brisport has sponsored legislation requiring mental health services for incarcerated individuals with mental health issues related to the trauma of incarceration . He supported the HALT Solitary Confinement Act (S.2836), sponsored by Senator Julia Salazar and signed into law in 2021, which limits segregated confinement in New York state prisons and county jails to 15 days and establishes alternative rehabilitative measures .
Other Legislative Actions
Brisport was one of 14 Democratic state senators who joined a bipartisan effort to rescind emergency powers granted to the governor during the COVID-19 pandemic . He co-signed a November 2023 letter condemning Columbia University's suspension of pro-Palestinian campus organizations and a joint statement with 13 socialist elected officials supporting student encampments in April 2024 .