Anna Gronewold is reporting for Politico [dot] com New York lawmakers are holding the state's first hearing on sexual harassment in nearly 30 years. “People told us it wouldn’t happen," said Erica Vladimer, a member of the Sexual Harassment Working Group. "We had elected officials tell us we needed to stop our advocacy because we were getting the way of what they were doing." At least 30 witnesses are scheduled to testify in the joint hearing in Albany Feb. 13, including survivors, experts, state agencies, the Governor's Office of Employee Relations and the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics. The commission typically handles sexual harassment cases, but has been criticized for its processes and its efficiency. The hearing will be led by a group of relatively new lawmakers, including freshmen senators Alessandra Biaggi, the Ethics Committee head who represents the Bronx, Julia Salazar from Brooklyn, who chairs the Women's Issues Committee, and Newburgh-area James Skoufis, who is chair of Investigations. Lawmakers and advocates say the point of the public hearing is to guide the Legislature's steps on the issue. Read the full story at Politico [dot] com.