Assembly Member Amy Paulin has served the 88th New York State Assembly District (Scarsdale, Edgemont, Eastchester, Bronxville, Tuckahoe, Pelham, Pelham Manor, and parts of New Rochelle and White Plains) since 2001. She chairs the Assembly Committee on Health and serves on the Committees on Rules and Education.
A full-time legislator, Assembly Member Paulin annually ranks among the state’s most productive and successful lawmakers. Her diverse legislative agenda includes health care, education, reproductive rights, child welfare, support for families, domestic violence prevention, sex trafficking elimination, government reform, sustainability, animal welfare, and gun control. She served as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Energy from 2013-2017, working to encourage renewable energy and ensure our electricity grid is reliable, and as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions from 2018-2022, where she championed expanded broadband access, public transportation, and utility resiliency.
As one of the most prolific legislators in the Legislature, over 400 of her bills have been signed into law to date. Among her most important legislative accomplishments include writing and sponsoring the bill that eliminated the statute of limitations for rape, sponsoring the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection and Justice Act, which dramatically toughened penalties for traffickers and buyers while providing support to the victims of human trafficking to help rebuild their lives, and authoring the Birth Control Access Act, which greatly expanded access to birth control for New Yorkers by allowing pharmacists to both prescribe and dispense hormonal contraception.
Assembly Member Paulin has a long, distinguished record of activism in public policy and community issues. Prior to her election to the Assembly, Paulin served in a number of capacities, including Executive Director, My Sisters’ Place; Member, Scarsdale Village Board of Trustees; Founder and Chairwoman, Westchester Women’s Agenda; President, Westchester League of Women Voters; Vice President, NY State League of Women Voters; Citizen Member, County Board of Legislators’ Special Committee on Families; and Member, Board of Directors of WCLA – Choice Matters.
Assembly Member Paulin was inducted into the Westchester Women’s Hall of Fame by the Women’s Research and Education Fund, has been honored by the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County and the NYS Camp Directors Association, and has been named NYS Legislator of the Year by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and by the National Organization of Women of New York State. Among other citations and recognitions, she has received the Spirit of Independence Award from Westchester Disabled on the Move, an Ally Award from New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NYSCASA), Vision of the Community from the Scarsdale Teen Center, the Metropolitan Library Council (METRO) award for outstanding and dedicated service in support of libraries, The Loft LGBTQ+ Community Center Equality Award, an MVP award from the NYS Association of Counties, 2023 Legislator of the Year Award from the NYS Health Care Providers, 2023 Legislator of the Year Award of the New York State Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Rider’s Alliance 2023 Transit Champion Award, and she has been named a Leader in the Fight against Domestic Violence by the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NYSCADV).
Assembly Member Paulin was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, holds a Master’s degree, and has completed doctoral course work in Criminal Justice from SUNY-Albany. For over forty years she and her husband, Ira Schuman, have lived in Scarsdale, where they raised their children, Beth, Sarah, and Joey.