The testimony was organized into three core positions:
- Support for Transit Workers: ACRE strongly supported the bill, which sought to reclassify assaults against public transit employees (such as Metro-North conductors and engineers) as aggravated assault, establishing stronger legal deterrents and penalties.
- On-the-Job Hazards: They detailed the severe risks transit employees faced, arguing that the elevated charges were necessary to protect operating craft crews from rising incidents of violence, harassment, and assault while performing their public duties.
- Safety & Protections: Both representatives emphasized that a safer work environment directly correlates with safer operations for the thousands of daily commuters on the New Haven Line and broader Metro-North Railroad system