Aravella Simotas

In 2019, the legislature passed Simotas' bill to extend New York's five-year statute of limitations for second and third degree rape to 20 years and 10 years respectively.

Simotas authored a package of bills aimed at strengthening protections against sexual harassment in the workplace and pushed the legislature to hold the first public hearings on the subject in 27 years. In June, 2019, the legislature passed Simotas' comprehensive bill to eliminate the severe or pervasive standard for harassment claims, extend the time period for employees to file complaints, hold employers accountable for harassment committed by supervisors, and establish protections for workers who sign non-disclosure agreements.

Simotas earned a perfect score on the New York League of Conservation Voters 2019 Environmental Scorecard.

Simotas's Committee Assignments as of 2018 included:

Simotas was appointed Chair of the Assembly's Ethics and Guidance Committee in 2017. Under her leadership, the Committee updated the Assembly's policy prohibiting harassment and discrimination to require expedited investigations and expand the types of conduct violating the policy.

Simotas introduced legislation to establish a Newborn Health and Safe Sleep Pilot Program to combat infant mortality by distributing "baby boxes", essential care items and educational materials to new parents in high risk areas. The bill was signed into law in October 2017.

Simotas passed legislation in 2016 to combat the rape kit backlog by mandating timely processing and testing of rape kits. In 2017, she introduced legislation to establish a Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights and prevent premature destruction of evidence. The bill was signed into law in 2018.

In 2016, Simotas introduced the Fair Access to Fertility Treatment Act to require insurers to cover in vitro fertilization, as well as fertility preservation services for cancer patients. Provisions of Simotas' proposal were enacted as part of the 2019-2020 state budget.

In 2015, legislation introduced by Simotas made New York the first state in the country to designate pregnancy as a qualifying event to enroll in health insurance through the state health exchange.

From 2014-2017, Simotas served as Chair of the Assembly's Task Force on Women's Issues.

In October 2013, Simotas hosted a seminar for Astoria seniors about Medicare, health insurance, and local resources.

In 2013, Simotas supported the retention and expansion of Gifted and Talented programs in her district.

Simotas was unopposed in the 2012 Democratic primary. In the general election, she ran on both the Democratic and Working Families Party lines, and was opposed by Republican Julia Haitch.

According to preliminary results collected by the Daily News, Simotas won re-election to the State Assembly, for the new District 36, in the general election on November 6, 2012 with 84% of the vote.

In 2012, Simotas introduced the "Rape is Rape" bill to expand the definition of rape in New York State law to include forced anal and oral sexual contact. The bill has passed in the Assembly every year since 2013.

Simotas has been chairperson of Smart Power NY, a coalition to develop new energy sources for the area, since April 2012. Its first goal was to support the utility NRG Energy with their plan to replace its "decades-old, dirty" power plant in Astoria with a newer generator. NRG wants to replace 31 generators with new ones that will increase the megawatts of power while reducing emissions. Emissions would be reduced because the new plants will use natural gas, while the current generators run primarily on oil. As of 2018, of the 19 Astoria facilities listed in the 2018 NYISO Gold Book as being owned by NRG, 7 of the facilities are on the deactivated list (at a total of 140 MW of capacity rights), and 12 of the facilities (at a total of 558 MW in nameplate capacity) have each consistently produced less than 15 GWh a year since 2011. This is equivalent to running at full capacity for less than 4% of the year. These 12 units still collect annual revenues from the NYISO's capacity market for not producing energy. For example, at 6.40 ($/kW - Month), the 12 actively listed facilities would produce an annual capacity market revenue of $42.8 million for NRG. It is unclear if the 7 deactivated units still collect capacity market revenues. In July 2017, NRG filed a request with the New York State Public Service Commission to avoid Article 10 siting procedures for a proposed turbine replacement project which would represent a total proposed capacity of 579 MW. The turbine upgrades listed in the filing are new simple-cycle turbines. The filing states that since the proposed capacity is not 25 MW greater than the existing facility, Article 10 regulation is not required. As of November 2018, no ruling has been issued by the NYSPSC.

Simotas is married to John Katsanos, and they have one daughter, born in 2012.

Simotas was first elected to office in 2010. She received the Democratic Party nomination and ran unopposed in the November 2, 2010 general election.

Simotas has been active in keeping local public schools open and functioning in her district, including Long Island City High School, which has been threatened with closing or "co-location" (consolidation) since the early 2010s.

She received a B.A, degree (summa cum laude) from Fordham University in 1999, followed by a J.D. degree from the Fordham University School of Law in 2002. During law school, she was the managing editor at the Fordham Environmental Law Journal.

Aravella Simotas (born October 9, 1978) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party, who currently represents parts of western Queens, including Astoria and parts of Long Island City in the New York State Assembly. She is the first woman elected to office from her district.