D Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton

Called the bill a landmark piece of legislation about compassion and dignity, noting it answers a decade-long effort and represents taking control of one's own fate at end of life.

Noted that veterans mentioned this bill to her during a Hall of Fame ceremony and emphasized that New Jersey already provides this benefit. Called for the bill to be signed into law to help keep veterans and military families in New York.

The bill creates a registry of veterans' services to address the problem that many New York State resources exist but families don't know about them. She cited her personal experience as a military spouse struggling to find housing, education, and mental health benefits available to veterans and their families.

Scarcella-Spanton argued the bill modernizes stalking laws to address technology-enabled harassment, noting that predators currently exploit loopholes using GPS, cellphones and apps to track victims without knowledge or consent, and that many perpetrators have faced no consequences.

Scarcella-Spanton spoke from personal experience, noting Staten Island faces disproportionately high overdose rates and that she has lost numerous friends to overdoses. She read the names of individuals lost to the crisis and expressed gratitude for Sen. Fernandez's work on the issue.