NYS Senator Rachel May was elected to the Senate in 2018. Even though she was brand new to the Senate, Senator May stepped up to her role as one of only a few Upstate Senators in the majority. She is Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Commission on Rural Resources and was instrumental in negotiating a supplemental Appropriation for Rural Health Networks and Rural Access Hospitals in the 2019-20 budget.
Senator May received the Rural Health Champion Award from NYSARH for her support of rural health initiatives.
Senator May has held hearings on the Climate Leadership and Community Preservation Act, rural broadband, farm labor rights, health care for all, and upstate nursing home issues during the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, she has brought her downstate colleagues to upstate for roundtables on opioid addiction treatment and prevention.
As chair of the Senate Committee on Aging, she has been a vigorous supporter of home care workforce initiatives, expanded funding for in-home care programs, the Long-term Care Ombudsman Program, and nursing home accountability. She has sponsored bills to create a Reimagining Long-Term Care Task Force, authorize a family caregiver tax credit, and create a home care jobs innovation fund to support workforce growth.
