Alexa Avilés
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This meeting is coming to order.
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Good morning, everyone.
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I am council member Alexa Alexa Aviles, chair of the committee on immigration.
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I'd like to begin by thanking my committee colleagues who have joined us here today.
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We have council member Shekhar Krishnan, council mem majority leader Amanda Farias, council member Carmen de la Rosa, council member Crystal Hudson, council member Rita Joseph, and council member Eric Boucher.
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Thank you, colleagues.
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Today, the committee will be voting on resolutions 468576.
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Resolution 468 sponsored by council member Crystal Hudson calls on the New York State Legislature to pass the Empire State Licensing Act, which would provide all New Yorkers access to professional, occupational, commercial, or business license licenses, permits, certificates, or related registrations regardless of an applicant's immigration status.
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This bill was previously heard on June 11, 2024.
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Resolution 576 sponsored by majority leader Amanda Farias calls on the New York state legislature to introduce and pass legislation amending the tax law to authorize the city of New York to offer tax credits for business for businesses to incentivize the creation of workforce development and training programs for newly arrived immigrants.
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This bill was previously heard on October 15, 2024.
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These bills, which I've cosponsored, calls for changes that will benefit our immigrant communities and help address the labor shortages challenging our city's economy.
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Immigrants continue to significantly contribute to some of the state's fastest growing industries, including industries that are struggling with workforce shortages.
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There are growing demands not only for labor, but for the workers with bilingual skills, especially in fields such as education and health care.
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Amending licensing requirements to ensure that individuals with experience and knowledge of an industry can access relevant registration requirements and can open up numerous occupations to more workers, incentivizing businesses to develop workforce training programs through tax credits can help bridge businesses' needs for workers and workers' needs for workforce development.
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Addressing barriers to employment allows immigrants to access jobs that meet their expertise and interests and allows them to work in New York City with dignity as they add to the fabric of our city.
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The state actions called for in these resolutions can help immigrant workers earn higher wages and increase job security, ultimately benefiting the New York economy through more robust tax revenues.
0:03:13
Thank you to the committee staff for their work on this hearing, including Nicole Cata, Rebecca Barilla, Carolina Gill, Flor Cabour, and to my staff, chief of staff Edward Serna, legislative and budget director Christina Bottego, our legislative fellow Kate Byrne, and our communications director Winnie Marion, and everyone who is working in the background to ensure that this hearing runs smoothly.
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I will now turn it over, to council member Hudson to make a brief statement on her bill.
