Hochul Signs Trafficking Relief, Gender-Affirming Utilities Legislation

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Flanked by LGBTQ activists and out elected officials, Governor Kathy Hochul on November 16 signed two pieces of legislation aimed at protecting trafficking survivors and requiring utility, water works, and telephone companies to respect names and pronouns of customers.

The governor signed the bills at the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan, where she hailed both measures as two of the state’s latest efforts to update laws in order to remove barriers for transgender New Yorkers. Notably, the event came during Transgender Awareness Week and just four days before Transgender Day of Remembrance.