Dear neighbor,

I have some great news to share…Team Hinchey is hiring!

If you or someone you know is looking for a career in which you can help your neighbors and make a real difference in your community, please consider applying! We’re looking to hire a full-time Spanish-speaking caseworker to join our amazing Constituent Services Team at our Kingston office.

Yours in service,

Senator Michelle Hinchey
41st Senate District

My bill to retire old stretch limousines passed the State Senate this week as part of a package of limo safety standards to protect New Yorkers, prevent crashes, and ensure higher standards within the limo industry. S1443-Hinchey ages out limos at 350,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first, with a special carve-out for antique and show cars.

All of the bills that passed as part of the package were recommendations from the Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Task Force, which was created in the wake of the tragic Schoharie and Long Island limo crashes that claimed the lives of 24 New Yorkers. While we will never come close to diminishing the pain of the families who lost loved ones, my colleagues and I will continue to do everything in our power to establish comprehensive safety measures so that no family ever has to endure the same tragedy from these preventable accidents.

Big momentum this week on two of my priority bills for this session! My bill to ban estimated billing by utility companies and my bill to create oversight of small private water companies and hold bad actors accountable both advanced the Senate Energy & Telecommunications Committee.

• S1851-Hinchey prevents utility companies from using estimated billing in most circumstances to fight inaccurate billing practices and ensure New Yorkers are only paying what they owe.
  
  

• S1791-Hinchey, the Small Water Utility Transparency Act, grants the PSC, DEC, and NYS Comptroller greater auditing authority over small private water utilities to ensure these companies are providing community members with safe, adequate, and affordable water service.

Next Up: Both bills now head to the full Senate for a vote!

I’m honored to be recognized as Red Cross Eastern New York’s 2023 NYS Legislator of the Year!

Together, we’ve partnered to help our Hudson Valley communities respond to and recover from severe weather, including our emergency efforts during the Ulster County Ice Storm where we created pop-up shelters to help our neighbors stay safe, fed, and warm until conditions improved. During a national blood shortage, we set up free blood drives to support the needs of our rural hospitals and we got creative with our emergency preparedness events to make sure our neighbors have the information they need to stay safe in times of crisis. I thank the Red Cross for this great honor and look forward to our continued partnership in support of communities across the Hudson Valley. 

Winter can be an incredibly difficult time of year for many families, and to support those receiving services at Sun River Health in Hudson and Kingston, my office is collecting donations of warm clothing, books, and toiletries as part of our winter essentials drive.

The following items will be accepted at my Kingston office through Friday, February 10th (721 Broadway, Suite 150):

• Winter coats: ages 2-16
• Socks: ages 2-16
• Books: English & Spanish, ages 2-11 
• Notebooks & Pens 
• Toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps, shampoos, lotion): ages 14-18

We can’t wait to deliver all of the beautiful cards our community has contributed to our Valentine's for Seniors Card Drive! Look at what students in Mrs. Murphy’s class at George Washington Elementary in Kingston have crafted for our neighbors in local nursing homes!

If you’re a teacher or parent with a student who would like to participate, we’d love to include their cards in our distribution efforts! You can mail or drop off cards to my Kingston office by 5:00 PM on February 6th — 721 Broadway, Suite 150. 

For questions and to coordinate school pick-ups, contact Destiny from our team at (845) 331-3810.