Assemblywoman Simon
District 52 Brooklyn

Since January I have been actively seeking a replacement for Asst. Speaker, Felix Ortiz, who wrote the original .05 bill in 2013. Unfortunately, the Asst. Speaker was defeated in the 2020 Democratic primary. This search was made more difficult since we were still in the middle of the pandemic and the shutdown of the Capital. So I’m happy to announce that Assemblywoman Jo Anne SImon representing Brooklyn has agreed to introduce the Assembly version of the .05 bill, AO7197, which will lower the legal BAC from .08 to .05 and lower the aggravated BAC threshold from .18 to .12.

In 2004, she was elected female District Leader and State Committeewoman for the 52nd Assembly District. The Assemblywoman was one of 15 co-sponsors of the previous .05 bill. RID is happy to have someone with her background and experience to help navigate the bill through the rigorous legislative process. I want to thank Assemblywoman Simon and her staff for stepping up in this leadership role. I’m planning a press conference at the Capital to announce the assemblywoman as sponsor of the bill. There will be road safety and victim advocates speaking about the merits of AO7197 at the event as well. I will post the date once everything has been finalized.