What Has Steven Raga Done for New York State Assembly District 30?

Steven Raga serves as the representative of Assembly District 30 in Queens in the New York State Assembly. During his term, his initiatives have focused on housing protections, workers’ rights, immigrant services, healthcare transparency, and civic participation.

According to legislative records from the New York State Assembly’s official website and LegiScan, Raga has sponsored and co-sponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at helping working-class families.

During his tenure in the Assembly, Raga has sponsored and co-sponsored several legislative measures addressing housing protections, workers’ rights, immigrant access to legal services, healthcare transparency, and civic engagement.

One of the measures he introduced is the Student Voter Empowerment Act (A3954 / S2056), filed in February 2025. The bill aims to increase youth civic participation by establishing voter registration and engagement programs on college campuses.

In January 2026, Raga introduced the Stop Taking Our Pay (STOP) Act (A9644), which seeks to regulate Earned Wage Access (EWA) services by classifying them as loans. The proposal is intended to protect workers from what advocates describe as predatory financial practices tied to early wage access programs.

Raga has also supported legislation establishing the Right to Counsel in Immigration Court (A170), which would guarantee legal representation for individuals facing immigration proceedings—an issue advocates say is crucial to ensuring due process in complex immigration cases.

Another bill he backed would require certain New York City public schools to provide Halal food options during lunch, addressing the dietary needs of Muslim students in the city’s diverse school communities.

In addition, legislation known as A9065 proposes discounted tickets for New York residents attending sporting events at publicly funded venues, allowing taxpayers to benefit from facilities built with public funds.

Housing protections are also a major focus of Raga’s legislative work. Among the proposals are measures requiring cities and counties to create programs providing legal counsel to tenants facing eviction, as well as establishing a Tenancy Deposit Protection Program, which would require security deposits to be held in third-party accounts with a structured dispute resolution process.

Raga has also supported labor and healthcare reforms, including legislation allowing up to one-third of nursing clinical education to be completed through simulation-based training, helping address shortages in clinical placements.

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Another proposal seeks to reduce the standard workweek to 32 hours for large employers with at least 500 employees, without reducing worker pay.

Meanwhile, a measure to create a Healthcare Accountability Office aims to improve transparency in hospital costs and provide recommendations to help control rising healthcare expenses.

Raga, the first Filipino American elected to the New York State Assembly, is now seeking to represent District 12 in the New York State Senate, building his campaign around policies that promote economic fairness, immigrant protections, and expanded access to public services for working families in New York.

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As a Filipino American leader, Raga has also promoted greater representation of Asian American and immigrant communities in government, while continuing to advocate for policies that support working-class families in Queens.

Last September, Raga was arrested along with 10 other elected officials during a protest calling for accountability and transparency from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over what advocates described as inhumane detention practices at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan.

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Born in the Philippines, Raga immigrated to the United States with his family at a young age and grew up in Queens, New York, where he experienced firsthand the challenges faced by immigrant families navigating education, employment, and public services in a new country.

He later pursued higher education in New York and built a career focused on public policy, community development, and economic empowerment, particularly for immigrant and underserved communities.