Timothy M. Kennedy (politician)

Kennedy currently chairs the New York State Senate Transportation, Infrastructure, and Capital Investment Committee.[20] He serves on the Finance, Rules, Energy & Telecommunications, Insurance, Banks, and Social Services Committees.

In June 2011, Kennedy voted "yes" on the Marriage Equality Act, which legalized same-sex marriage in New York. The bill was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo.[21]

In 2011, Kennedy authored Jay-J's Law, which sought to stiffen penalties for repeat child abusers by increasing the look back period in which someone can be charged with aggravated assault. The bill was named after Jay-J Bolvin, a young boy who suffered 11 fractured bones, a severe seizure disorder and developmental delays as a result of a severe beating from his father, who had previously been convicted of assaulting one of his other sons. The bill was passed by the legislature and later signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo in July 2013.[22]

In 2012, Kennedy introduced a package of four bills to combat the opioid epidemic in New York. One of the bills would create a prescription-monitoring system for physicians and pharmacists to track the prescription of narcotic painkillers. This proposal was made by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.[23]

In 2013, Kennedy co-sponsored legislation to increase the state minimum wage to $9 an hour, and automatically adjust the minimum wage to account for cost-of-living increases.[24]

In May 2013, Kennedy introduced a Jackie's Law into the Senate, which was prompted by the death of West Seneca woman Jackie Wisniewski, who was killed after being stalked by a former boyfriend using a GPS tracking device on her car. Kennedy's bill updated New York's stalking statutes by allowing police to pursue criminal charges against those who use electronic tracking devices to stalk victims. Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes sponsored companion legislation in the Assembly. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law in July 2014.[25]

In 2014, Kennedy introduced legislation that would limit the state's legal immunity for claims for damages. The legislation would specifically amend Section 58 of the State Highway Law, which immunizes the state from "liability for damages arising from defects in its highways" during cold-weather months. The bill proposed by Kennedy "would allow motorists to seek damages from the state for 'egregious or unreasonable' defects year-round or when it was given prior notice of a defect."[26] State Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti filed companion legislation in the State Assembly.[26]

Kennedy was a supporter of the legalization of mixed martial arts (MMA) in New York, which at the time was the only U.S. state to bar MMA events.[27] Kennedy argued that MMA could economically benefit Western New York, with events at First Niagara Center in Buffalo benefiting local businesses.[28] The legal status of MMA had been a state political issue for years; the state Senate passed legalization legislation seven times over six years, but the bills were not taken up by the State Assembly. Kennedy expressed disappointment at the failure to pass the legislation in 2015,[27] and welcomed passage of MMA legislation in 2016.[28]

Kennedy is a supporter of legalizing transportation network companies such as Uber, saying in 2017 that it was "embarrassing" that Buffalo is the largest city in the U.S. that did not allow such services.[29]