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

[11] 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.

[17] From 2014 to 2017, Simotas served as Chair of the Assembly's Task Force on Women's Issues and Administrative and Regulatory Review Commission.

[22][23] In 2017, she introduced legislation to establish a Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights and prevent premature destruction of evidence.

[26][27] 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.

[28] In June 2019, the legislature passed Simotas' 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.

[33][34] 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.

[41][42] In 2019, Simotas introduced legislation to close a loophole in New York's Raise the Age law to expand eligibility for record sealing.

[44] Simotas served as chairperson of Smart Power NY, a coalition to develop new energy sources for Western Queens.

[50][51] Simotas joined several other public officials in protesting against the Greek Neo-Nazi organization, Golden Dawn, which held a recruitment meeting in Queens.