Julia Salazar: Legislative Record
Julia Salazar has compiled a substantial legislative record since taking office in January 2019, with enacted legislation spanning housing, criminal justice, reproductive health, climate, and corrections oversight. She currently serves on the Senate committees for Crime Victims, Crime and Correction (as Chair), Housing, Construction and Community Development, Codes, Cities 1, Banks, Finance, Education, and the Legislative Women's Caucus, among others 1.
The Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act was Salazar's first bill to pass into law. The legislation requires health insurance companies in New York to fully cover all FDA-approved forms of contraception without copays, expanding reproductive healthcare access across the state 2.
Salazar played a critical role in the passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, one of the most significant overhauls of New York's rent regulations in decades. The law strengthened protections for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments, regulated rent increases, and eliminated provisions that had allowed landlords to deregulate units upon vacancy 2. She was among the progressive freshman legislators, alongside Senator Zellnor Myrie, who led protests and organizing efforts that pushed the legislation forward 3.
In 2021, Salazar served as the lead Senate sponsor of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act (S.2836), which passed both chambers with supermajorities in March 2021 and was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo in April 2021 . The law limits segregated confinement to 15 consecutive days for all incarcerated individuals, prohibits solitary confinement for vulnerable populations including youth, seniors, pregnant individuals, and those with disabilities, reduces the number of disciplinary infractions eligible for segregated confinement, and establishes Residential Rehabilitation Units as therapeutic alternatives . Since its implementation, Salazar has led oversight efforts through her committee to monitor compliance, holding hearings on reported violations by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision .
Also in 2021, Salazar sponsored the legislation that ended child marriage in New York State by raising the minimum age to marry to 18, closing a longstanding gap in the state's family law 2.
In 2022, Salazar sponsored a bill to secure additional federal funding for the New York City Housing Authority and to expand governance mechanisms empowering public housing residents. The bill was signed into law 2.
Salazar served as co-prime sponsor of the Build Public Renewables Act (S.4134), which was passed as part of the 2023 state budget. The legislation expanded the New York Power Authority's mandate to develop, own, and operate renewable energy generation projects, directed NYPA to provide renewable energy to all state-owned and municipal properties by 2035, and required the authority to close its fossil fuel peaker plants in New York City and on Long Island by 2030 7. The bill was the product of a four-year campaign by the Public Power NY coalition 8.
The Good Cause Eviction law, Salazar's signature housing bill, was enacted in April 2024 as part of the state budget. She had first introduced the legislation in 2019 and spent five legislative sessions negotiating its passage . The law prohibits evictions without a legitimate reason, requires landlords to offer lease renewals, and establishes a mechanism for tenants to challenge rent increases exceeding a threshold tied to the consumer price index . The enacted version applies in New York City, with municipalities outside the city able to opt in to the protections . As of mid-2025, 17 municipalities had adopted their own versions of the law, extending protections to approximately one million renters statewide .
In 2025, Salazar led the development and passage of the Prison Reform Omnibus Bill (S.8415), a comprehensive package of ten bills responding to the killings of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi by corrections officers in state prisons . The package included legislation requiring 24-hour surveillance cameras in all correctional facility areas excluding cell interiors, showers, and toilets; mandating disclosure of video footage related to deaths in custody to the Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation; strengthening next-of-kin notification procedures; expanding the State Commission of Correction from three to five members; extending the statute of limitations for civil claims by incarcerated individuals; and expanding the Correctional Association of New York's oversight authority . Governor Hochul signed the bill with negotiated chapter amendments in December 2025 . Salazar also introduced legislation to close a loophole that had allowed the controversial appointment of NYPA's CEO without Senate confirmation, which passed the legislature in 2025 .
Salazar has introduced legislation to decriminalize sex work through the Stop Violence in the Sex Trades Act, though the bill has not yet reached a floor vote in either chamber . She has also advocated for the Fair and Timely Parole Act and the Elder Parole Act, which remain pending in the legislature .
Overview
Julia Salazar has compiled a substantial legislative record since taking office in January 2019, with enacted legislation spanning housing, criminal justice, reproductive health, climate, and corrections oversight. She currently serves on the Senate committees for Crime Victims, Crime and Correction (as Chair), Housing, Construction and Community Development, Codes, Cities 1, Banks, Finance, Education, and the Legislative Women's Caucus, among others 1.
The Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act was Salazar's first bill to pass into law. The legislation requires health insurance companies in New York to fully cover all FDA-approved forms of contraception without copays, expanding reproductive healthcare access across the state 2.
Salazar played a critical role in the passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, one of the most significant overhauls of New York's rent regulations in decades. The law strengthened protections for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments, regulated rent increases, and eliminated provisions that had allowed landlords to deregulate units upon vacancy 2. She was among the progressive freshman legislators, alongside Senator Zellnor Myrie, who led protests and organizing efforts that pushed the legislation forward 3.
In 2021, Salazar served as the lead Senate sponsor of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act (S.2836), which passed both chambers with supermajorities in March 2021 and was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo in April 2021 . The law limits segregated confinement to 15 consecutive days for all incarcerated individuals, prohibits solitary confinement for vulnerable populations including youth, seniors, pregnant individuals, and those with disabilities, reduces the number of disciplinary infractions eligible for segregated confinement, and establishes Residential Rehabilitation Units as therapeutic alternatives . Since its implementation, Salazar has led oversight efforts through her committee to monitor compliance, holding hearings on reported violations by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision .
Also in 2021, Salazar sponsored the legislation that ended child marriage in New York State by raising the minimum age to marry to 18, closing a longstanding gap in the state's family law 2.
In 2022, Salazar sponsored a bill to secure additional federal funding for the New York City Housing Authority and to expand governance mechanisms empowering public housing residents. The bill was signed into law 2.
Salazar served as co-prime sponsor of the Build Public Renewables Act (S.4134), which was passed as part of the 2023 state budget. The legislation expanded the New York Power Authority's mandate to develop, own, and operate renewable energy generation projects, directed NYPA to provide renewable energy to all state-owned and municipal properties by 2035, and required the authority to close its fossil fuel peaker plants in New York City and on Long Island by 2030 7. The bill was the product of a four-year campaign by the Public Power NY coalition 8.
The Good Cause Eviction law, Salazar's signature housing bill, was enacted in April 2024 as part of the state budget. She had first introduced the legislation in 2019 and spent five legislative sessions negotiating its passage . The law prohibits evictions without a legitimate reason, requires landlords to offer lease renewals, and establishes a mechanism for tenants to challenge rent increases exceeding a threshold tied to the consumer price index . The enacted version applies in New York City, with municipalities outside the city able to opt in to the protections . As of mid-2025, 17 municipalities had adopted their own versions of the law, extending protections to approximately one million renters statewide .
In 2025, Salazar led the development and passage of the Prison Reform Omnibus Bill (S.8415), a comprehensive package of ten bills responding to the killings of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi by corrections officers in state prisons . The package included legislation requiring 24-hour surveillance cameras in all correctional facility areas excluding cell interiors, showers, and toilets; mandating disclosure of video footage related to deaths in custody to the Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation; strengthening next-of-kin notification procedures; expanding the State Commission of Correction from three to five members; extending the statute of limitations for civil claims by incarcerated individuals; and expanding the Correctional Association of New York's oversight authority . Governor Hochul signed the bill with negotiated chapter amendments in December 2025 . Salazar also introduced legislation to close a loophole that had allowed the controversial appointment of NYPA's CEO without Senate confirmation, which passed the legislature in 2025 .
Salazar has introduced legislation to decriminalize sex work through the Stop Violence in the Sex Trades Act, though the bill has not yet reached a floor vote in either chamber . She has also advocated for the Fair and Timely Parole Act and the Elder Parole Act, which remain pending in the legislature .