Michelle is a long time community advocate and reformer. Working across party lines, she has built a reputation as an effective agent for change. In her first term in the Assembly, Michelle has an outstanding record of achievement with five bills that she introduced having passed in both the Senate and Assembly awaiting the Governor’s signature to become law. Most notably is her bill that requires a state report about the services for autism spectrum disorder.
Michelle spearheaded an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling program for the Town of North Hempstead, reducing some of the most environmentally hazardous forms of trash, including computers, televisions and cell phones. Now as an Assemblywoman serving on the Environmental Conservation Committee, Michelle is working tirelessly to implement a statewide electronic waste recycling program.
A member of the Assembly Energy Committee and Transportation Committee her focus continues to be alternative energy statewide for transportation and infrastructure development.
She is a proud co-sponsor of the Expansion of State Net Metering Laws: Net metering is the practice that credits consumers for the clean energy they generate themselves. The new policy expands net metering for three types of clean energy systems: solar, wind and farm waste.
Assemblywoman Schimel co-hosts a Guilt-Free Green Education program about green lifestyle choices with Frank Morris of the
Sierra Club Long Island, Fran Reid and Patty Katz of
Reach Out America and Laura Weinberg of the
Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition.
Michelle drives a hybrid electric car.
Michelle has helped push through some of the most important reforms in sensible gun legislation in State history. On August 9, 2000, Michelle and Congresswoman McCarthy stood with
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence members as Governor Pataki signed into law New York’s most effective gun control legislation to date. Reducing gun violence, and protecting youth from gun violence, is still the key issue in her advocacy portfolio. Her proudest accomplishment in the Assembly thus far is her introduction of the landmark
Microstamping Legislation. The bill has received the endorsement of over 50 law enforcement and police departments around New York State. Assemblywoman Schimel also was a key proponent on the Governor’s Program Bill to Prevent Severely Mentally Ill Residents and Violent Felons from purchasing firearms aimed at preventing similar tragedies as the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre.
Assemblywoman Schimel has brought in $7.6 million dollars more in additional state aid to public schools in her district, significantly more than the governor proposed in his executive budget. Michelle knows that the 16th Assembly District expects top quality education without additional hikes in local taxes. Without Assemblywoman Schimel’s efforts, many school districts were slated to lose several hundred thousands dollars in aid.
Michelle fought cuts in the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for college students, as well as expanded eligibility for part-time students. She helped secure new funding for Nassau Community College.
Michelle serves on the Assembly Veterans Committee in Albany, and the Veterans Health Alliance of Long Island which promotes the health and well-being of Long Island Veterans and their families. She has continued the
Valentines for Vets Program started by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, delivering personal care items and valentine cards from school children throughout the district to veterans at the VA Medical Center in Northport and the State Veterans Home in Stony Brook .
Her years as North Hempstead Town Clerk made Michelle uniquely qualified to understand how local governments work. Always mindful of governmental efficiency and eliminating wasteful spending, Michelle has sponsored a number of legislative initiatives in the Assembly that encourage the practice of shared municipal services and cost-saving measures.
Michelle was a physical therapist and wound care specialist at North Shore University Hospital. While there, she implemented sweeping reforms in the treatment of wound care, which simultaneously reduced costs and increased quality of care. Michelle understands the economy of scale in healthcare and knows that increased efficiency and saving money doesn’t have to come at the expense of quality.