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New York State Assembly District 52
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Jo Anne Simon
Democratic PartySTH · NY · District 52
New York State Assembly District 52
STH · NY · District 52
New York State Assembly District 52
Iona College—Bachelor's Degree in Communication Sciences; Gallaudet University—Master's Degree in Education of the Deaf; Fordham University School of Law—law degree
Data last updated 10/21/2026
Jo Anne Simon is a disability civil rights lawyer, former teacher of deaf students, and community activist who represents New York State Assembly District 52. After serving as a judicial law secretary and teaching in Hofstra University School of Law's clinical program, she established a disability civil rights law firm in Downtown Brooklyn and has also served as an adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at Fordham. Since 1981 she has lived in Brooklyn, where she has been active in community organizations including the Boerum Hill Association and was elected female District Leader and State Committeewoman for the 52nd Assembly District in 2004.
Committee Assignments: Chair, Committee on Mental Health · Committee on Higher Education · Committee on Judiciary · Committee on Transportation · Committee on Ways and Means · Legislative Women's Caucus · Task Force on Women's Issues
Jo Anne Simon, Democratic Assemblymember for New York State Assembly District 52, emphasizes protecting health care access, improving mental health care delivery, and preserving community input before hospital closures. Her record includes sponsoring hospital-closure oversight legislation, supporting state action to prevent health coverage losses, and co-sponsoring bills related to health care preauthorization, provider dispute resolution, and health-data privacy.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Simon stated that New York should address expected health care coverage losses in the state budget or through a state bill and said she was actively supporting A10926.
SourceJo Anne Simon’s Economy & Jobs record emphasizes worker protections, wage-theft enforcement, unemployment benefits, and training pathways toward sustainable-wage employment. She has also stated support for progressive revenue measures and corporate tax increases to fund affordability priorities for working families.
Specific Actions & Proposals
In a 2026 constituent report, Simon said she supports fairer progressive income taxes, higher taxes on the most profitable corporations, a capital gains tax, a stock transfer tax, and her plan to end wage theft while generating over $200 million annually for the Department of Labor.
SourceJo Anne Simon supports expanding protections and services for immigrant New Yorkers, including limiting state/local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and expanding access to legal representation in immigration matters. She has co-sponsored multiple New York Assembly immigration-related bills and has publicly described herself as supporting New York for All, the MELT Act, the RADAR Act, and the right-to-representation effort.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Publicly supported immediate passage of New York for All, thanking advocates working to stand up for immigrant neighbors and crediting bill sponsors and advocates fighting to protect immigrant New Yorkers.
SourceIn a candidate questionnaire, Simon stated she is a prime co-sponsor of New York for All and other immigration-related bills including the MELT Act, RADAR Act, and right-to-representation act.
SourceJo Anne Simon supports reducing fossil-fuel dependence, lowering utility costs tied to gas infrastructure, and accelerating New York’s clean-energy transition. Her record includes sponsoring the repeal of the natural-gas "100-foot rule," backing NY HEAT/Customer Savings and Reliability Act concepts, and co-sponsoring renewable-energy and just-transition legislation.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Simon urged the Governor to sign the 100-foot rule repeal, describing it as a climate and affordability measure to reduce expansion of the fracked-gas system.
SourceJo Anne Simon emphasizes literacy, dyslexia screening, disability-related education rights, and evidence-based reading instruction. Her education record centers on identifying learning disabilities early, training teachers in the science of reading, and expanding education access and supports.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Simon supported New York's literacy action plan, saying teacher preparation should move away from ineffective balanced literacy methods and toward evidence-based reading instruction.
SourceJo Anne Simon emphasizes public safety through gun-violence prevention, especially red-flag orders and firearm-industry accountability, while also backing traffic-safety and behavioral-health interventions connected to public safety. Her legislative record includes sponsoring New York’s ERPO law, school gun-violence-prevention programming, anti-drunk-driving measures, and proposals to divert eligible defendants for mental-health screening or hospitalization under non-monetary release conditions.
New York State Assembly - Jo Anne Simon Biography
https://www.assembly.ny.gov/mem/Jo-Anne-Simon/about/Fetched: biography, location, education, background
New York State Assembly - Jo Anne Simon Committee Membership
https://www.assembly.ny.gov/mem/Jo-Anne-Simon/comm/Fetched: committees
New York State Assembly - Jo Anne Simon Assembly District 52 official profile
https://assembly.ny.gov/mem/?ad=052&sh=bioFetched: votingRecord
OpenStates / Plural - Jo Anne Simon person page
https://openstates.org/person/jo-anne-simon-11sXsJcUcNTdiHqVP06nKX/Fetched: votingRecord
MyRepTracker - Jo Anne Simon voting record
https://www.myreptracker.com/new-york/legislators/ny-house-52-jo-anne-simon/voting-recordFetched: votingRecord
FollowTheMoney.org API documentation
https://www.followthemoney.org/our-data/apis/Fetched: campaignFinance
Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn
https://lidbk.com/jo-anne-simon-ad-52-2026Fetched: endorsements
New York League of Conservation Voters
https://www.nylcv.org/wp-content/uploads/NYS-Scorecard-2025.pdfFetched: ratings
New York League of Conservation Voters
https://nylcv.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-state-scorecard-web.pdfFetched: ratings
Environmental Advocates NY
https://eaaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/eaaction_scorecard_2021_final-10-19.pdfFetched: ratings
New York State Assembly Member Directory - Jo Anne Simon
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Jo-Anne-Simon/welcome/Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly press release on LICH Act
https://www.nyassembly.gov/mem/Jo-Anne-Simon/story/114352Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly Reports to the People Spring 2026
https://assembly.ny.gov/write/upload/member_files/052/pdfs/20260515_0118227.pdfFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate Open Legislation - A3789
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A3789Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate Open Legislation - A3885
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A3885Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate Open Legislation - A3285
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/A3285Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly member page
https://www.assembly.ny.gov/mem/?ad=052&sh=sponsorFetched: issuePositions
NY Senate Open Legislation - A2188
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A2188Fetched: issuePositions
NY Senate Open Legislation - A2222
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A2222/amendment/originalFetched: issuePositions
NY Senate Open Legislation - A3904
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A3904Fetched: issuePositions
NY Senate Open Legislation - A4278
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A4278/amendment/originalFetched: issuePositions
Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon Spring 2026 Report to the People
https://assembly.ny.gov/write/upload/member_files/052/pdfs/20260515_0118227.pdfFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate legislation page for A3506
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A3506Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate legislation page for A270
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A270Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate legislation page for A2689
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A2689Fetched: issuePositions
New York Immigration Coalition
https://www.nyic.org/2026/02/advocates-and-lawmakers-call-for-immediate-passage-of-new-york-for-all/Fetched: issuePositions
Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club candidate questionnaire
https://jimowles.squarespace.com/news/candidate-answers-to-joldc-jo-anne-simon-for-ny-assembly-district-52Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly member page and legislative bill page
https://assembly.ny.gov/Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly member biography
https://assembly.ny.gov/mem/?ad=052&sh=bioFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate legislation page for Assembly Bill A1186A
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A1186/amendment/AFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly legislation page for A03937
https://www.assembly.ny.gov/leg/?bn=A03937&leg_video=Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly legislation page for A04780
https://www.assembly.ny.gov/leg/?bn=A04780&leg_video=Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly legislation page for A01325
https://www.assembly.ny.gov/leg/?bn=A01325&leg_video=Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly press release on NYS literacy action plan
https://www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Jo-Anne-Simon/story/112054Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly member page
https://www.assembly.ny.gov/mem/Jo-Anne-SimonFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly legislation search
https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=052&sh=sponsorFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly press release on ERPO
https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Jo-Anne-Simon/story/88492Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly press release on Glock conversion bill
https://www.nyassembly.gov/mem/Jo-Anne-Simon/story/110425Fetched: issuePositions