Issues

Combating Gun Violence

Addressing the epidemic of gun violence in this country is one of Senator Brooks’ foremost priorities. He has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with millions of children, moms, and gun-violence survivors to demand common-sense gun safety measures and work to amend New York’s gun laws. Senator Brooks believes in a future where parents do not have to worry about their children’s safety when they send them off to school.

Senator Brooks has passed legislation to:

Restrict concealed carry.
Expand background checks.
Strengthen red flag laws.
Raise the age to purchase assault rifles.
Outlaw ghost guns and guns that look like toys.
Close other critical legal loopholes exposed by the Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings.

Cutting Property Taxes

Long Island homeowners face some of the highest property taxes in the country. In addition to the numerous property tax reduction bills he has already passed, Senator Brooks released a widely-praised plan to reduce property taxes for overburdened homeowners by up to 20-30%. This plan utilizes funding previously allocated to ineffective scattershot one-time tax relief programs and directs it where it is needed most: school districts that are self-funding the cost of their public education through residential property taxes. The Brooks Plan caps the share of school district funding raised through residential property taxes at 50% of total funding, all without reducing a single cent in the amount of funding school districts receive. Overall, this would provide $1.1 billion in tax relief for Nassau and Suffolk residents alone.

Senator Brooks has:

Set a permanent 2% property tax cap for nearly $190 billion in taxpayer savings.
Delivered on the 16-year effort to pass the EMS Billing Act
Raised the income limit for property tax relief programs for seniors and persons with disabilities.
Passed legislation to implement property tax relief programs for veterans and active duty military personnel.
Lowered middle-class income tax to lowest in decades.
Fought for the elimination of the Republican Party’s SALT tax cap that imposes federal taxes on top of state and local taxes in excess of $10,000.

Defending the Right to Choose

Senator Brooks is firmly pro-choice. He believes that private, safe, and legal access to reproductive healthcare should be available as a fundamental matter of public health and safety. Senator Brooks has used his platform to support efforts to advance women’s rights and reproductive healthcare at every turn.

Senator Brooks has:

Cosponsored the Reproductive Health Act that codified Roe v. Wade into state law.
Passed a package of bills to further protect and strengthen access to reproductive care in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Veterans

As a veteran himself and Chair of the NYS Senate Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs, and Homeland Security, Senator Brooks has championed efforts to increase veterans' benefits and generally improve the lives of those who have served our country. Under his leadership, New York State has made great strides forward on behalf of our veterans and active duty military personnel.

Senator Brooks has:

Successfully secured the funding for a statewide expansion of the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer-to-Peer Counseling Program which has been directly correlated with lower suicide rates among veterans.
Elevated the Division of Veterans Services to a full-fledged department complete with its own commissioner, giving veterans a seat at the table in the Governor’s Cabinet.
Wrote the law to permanently extend veterans’ ability to receive health coverage for conditions caused by exposure to the toxic Agent Orange, regardless of how long after exposure they developed.
Provided free college tuition for Gold Star families.
Offered free career assistance for veterans to assist in their transition back from military to civilian life.
Implemented property tax relief programs for veterans and active duty military personnel.
Funded state and local veterans service organizations in the budget and through discretionary grants.
Introduced numerous additional bills to offer special services, discounts, tax reductions, jobs, and benefits to the veteran community.

Protecting Our Drinking Water

Senator Brooks believes that New Yorkers should have basic access to affordable, reliable, and high-quality drinking water. He has fought against corporate interests in the effort to lower water rates, increase transparency, improve water quality issues, and demand payment for the cleanup of contaminated groundwater sources. Senator Brooks maintains that access to a necessary, life-sustaining resource is a basic human right.

Senator Brooks has:

Secured $100 million to contain and clean up the Bethpage Plume, protecting our drinking water.
Established the South Nassau Water Authority, a municipal entity to address high rates, lack of transparency, and water quality issues of privatized water services.

Health Care

Senator Brooks holds the opinion that affordable and high-quality health care coverage should be available to all New Yorkers. Since taking office, he has consistently supported budgetary measures to lower the price of healthcare and expand access to care for all. He has stood alongside nurses and other healthcare professionals in their fight for fair wages and more expansive benefits. He has further taken action to address the devastating toll of the opioid epidemic on our communities.

Senator Brooks:

Wrote the law to permanently extend veterans’ ability to receive health coverage for conditions caused by exposure to the toxic Agent Orange, regardless of how long after exposure they developed.
Passed a package of bills aimed at reducing drug-related overdose deaths across New York State and facilitating the path to recovery for those who suffer from addiction.
Mandated the reporting of the specific opioid responsible for each overdose death to highlight and gather data on the true impact of fentanyl in our communities.
Secured funding for health, mental health, and disability services providers.

Fighting Corruption

In 2016, John Brooks was elected to bring change to New York’s 8th District, on the heels of massive corruption scandals that engulfed “power players” across Nassau and Suffolk County.

Since then, Senator Brooks has:

Introduced legislation to authorize a state monitor for the Town of Oyster Bay, a town at the center of political corruption scandals and misuse of taxpayer resources,
Sponsored legislation to prohibit the use of campaign funds for criminal defense when under federal criminal indictment.

LGBTQ+

Senator Brooks strongly believes in equal rights for all, regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other personal identity characteristic. He has worked to uplift the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community and reject all forms of bigotry and hatred.

Supported protests to improve the transgender community’s right to high-quality healthcare.
Cosponsored legislation to ban conversion therapy.
Cosponsored legislation to ban discrimination based on gender identity or expression and further include these types of offenses as hate crimes.
Voted to create an LGBT youth and young adult suicide task force.