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Floor News
Mandating Actual Meter Readings
• The Assembly and Senate passed a bill (A.888-C) requiring the obtainment of actual meter readings of all utilities and municipalities providing residential gas, electric, and steam service, reserving the existing statutory exceptions warranting bill estimation, along with the submission, within six months of a model procedure for calculating estimated bills (vote: 106-41).
Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Program
• The Assembly passed a bill (A.5906-A) that reduces the amount of food scraps generated in order to be considered a food scraps generator, thereby expanding the number of businesses and other entities required to be engaged in food donations and food scraps recycling. Increases, from 25 to 50 miles, the maximum distance where a food scrap generator must be from an organics recycler to donate excess food scraps (vote: 99-46).
Employee Gender, Race, and Ethnicity Reporting
• The Assembly passed a bill (A.8555) directing the Secretary of State to publish on the Department of State’s website the data particular business corporations and LLCs (private-sector employers with 100+ employees or federal contractors with 50+ employees) are already required to submit to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding the gender, race, and ethnicity of their employees (vote: 103-41).
“Comprehensive Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Station Implementation Plan”
• The Assembly passed a bill (A.8869) to institute the “Comprehensive Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Station Implementation Plan” and give the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, in consultation with the New York Power Authority, Departments of Transportation, Environmental Conservation, and Public Service, and the new 13-member Fast Charge NY Working Group six months to develop it (vote: 132-12).
Committee News
Children and Families
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Children and Families Committee blocked the following bills:
~A.6746 (Morinello) – Requires child day care centers that care for children under three years old to have video surveillance.
~A.8969 (Maher) – Directs the Commissioner of Children and Family Services to conduct a study that examines barriers to the creation of child care providers.
• Despite unanimous Republican opposition, the Children and Families Committee reported a bill (A.10049) that conforms and aligns discovery obligations in juvenile delinquency proceedings with recently enacted legislation relating to discovery rights for adults charged in criminal court.
This bill was reported to Codes.
Correction
• The Correction Committee reported a bill (A.10200) that amends the Sex Offender Registration Act to reduce the length of time, from 10 calendar days to five calendar days, in which a registered sex offender must register any change of address with the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). This bill was first introduced by Assembly Republicans in 2011 and was most recently sponsored by Assemblyman Mikulin as A.4223.
This bill was reported to Rules.
• Despite unanimous Republican opposition, the Correction Committee reported a bill (A.6489-A) that would largely give the Correction Association of New York (CANY) unrestricted access to State correctional facilities, incarcerated individuals, staff, records, and data.
This bill was reported to Codes.
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Correction Committee blocked the following bills: o A.8259 (Palmesano) – Extends the maximum number of months, from 24 to 60, as the time within which the Parole Board must set for reconsideration a denied application for parole in cases where an inmate was sentenced for specified class A-I or A-II felonies and class B violent felonies.
~A.9252 (Gray) – Redefines standards and guidelines for a program of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for incarcerated individuals in county jails. Removes the requirement that MAT be equivalent to the program established in State correctional facilities, thereby allowing some flexibility to county correctional facilities for the provision of treatment.
Health
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Health Committee blocked the following bills:
~A.2115 (Hawley) – Establishes the “Unpredictable Nursing Home Inspection Act.” Requires the Department of Health to conduct 40% of its inspections on nursing homes outside of business hours and requires all inspections to be unannounced.
~A.4162 (Manktelow) – Requires the Department of Health to conduct a study about opening three new veterans’ nursing homes in New York State.
~A.7577 (Blumencranz) – Requires the Commissioner of Health to establish a Hospice and Palliative Care Workgroup, which is tasked with issuing a report assessing the current state of palliative care, hospice care, geriatrics, and pain management services offered in New York and addressing gaps in those services.
~A.7746 (Maher) – Enacts the “Identify Dangerous Drugs Act (IDDA).” Requires the
Commissioner of Health to conduct a detailed scientific study of overdose cases to develop
treatment recommendations and emergency room protocols for unidentified opioids and/or
combinations of substances.
~A.8130 (DeStefano) – Adds xylazine to the list of Schedule I depressant controlled
substances and creates enhanced penalties for unlawful sale or criminal possession of
xylazine.
~A.8277 (Bendett) – Requires every nursing home patient to have a telephone capable of making local and long-distance telephone calls available in their room or at their bedside
(depending on the patient’s mobility).
Real Property Taxation
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Real Property Taxation Committee blocked the following bills:
~A.7747 (Maher) – Requires that applicants for certain real property tax exemptions relating to business investments must have a workforce that is composed of at least 80% local labor.
~A.9788 (Brown, K.) – Establishes a 100% real property tax exemption for widows and
widowers of police officers killed in the line of duty.
Veterans’ Affairs
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Veterans’ Affairs Committee blocked the following bills:
~A.4163 (Manktelow) – Establishes a Green Alert System for missing military members who have elected to join the system and who suffer from a mental illness, including PTSD, or a traumatic brain injury.
~A.4178 (Manktelow) – Creates the tax-free New York Combat Veterans Healthcare Choice Account for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who are unable to receive timely or adequate healthcare services from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Provides that the State may pay up to $5,000 into such account to assist such veterans with medical expenses.
Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee blocked the following bills:
~A.9416 (Novakhov) – Enacts the "Not on Our Dollar!: Ending New York Funding of Hamas Violence Act" to prohibit not-for-profit corporations from engaging in unauthorized support of Hamas and nations known to fund Middle Eastern terrorist group activity, while allowing for recovery of a civil penalty by the Attorney General and creating a private right of action for violations.
~A.9486 (Angelino) – Exempts from any toll imposed by the Thruway Authority, New York State Bridge Authority, and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, or from congestion pricing in Manhattan, any farmer or food producer who farms or produces food, including fish and fish products, on in-state property, and who is transporting said merchandise to New York City for the purpose of consumption within its borders.
• Despite unanimous Republican opposition, the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee reported a bill (A.8121) heightening New York State Authorities Budget Office (ABO) oversight over public authorities by empowering the ABO to ultimately annul the corporate existence of, or completely dissolve, a corporation. The bill further subjects every financial report already being submitted by public authorities to the State to the penalty of perjury in the 3rd degree in the case of knowing or willful violations.
This bill was reported to Codes.
Local Governments
• Despite unanimous Republican opposition, the Local Governments Committee reported a bill (A.5600), which requires applicants for financial assistance from an industrial development agency (IDA) for proposed projects to include an estimate of the percentage of materials to be used that are produced in the State and the number of jobs to be filled by residents of the region where a project is located.
This bill was reported to Ways and Means.
Racing and Wagering
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Racing and Wagering Committee blocked the following bills:
~A.6890 (Gandolfo) – Amends the State Constitution to authorize pool-selling without the taking of any profit by the pool-seller, as authorized and prescribed by the Legislature.
~A.9454 (Jensen) – Directs $10 million in revenue or one percent, whichever is greater, from interactive gaming (iGaming) activities, if and when legalized, to be used for school safety and security purposes.
Environmental Conservation
• The Environmental Conservation Committee reported the following bills:
~A.3351-B — Enacts the “Climate Change Superfund Act,” which establishes the Climate
Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Program to impose financial recovery demands on gas and oil companies operating from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2018, for contributing to the effects of climate change. Provides that these monies will be used for infrastructure projects designed to avoid, moderate, repair, or adapt to negative impacts caused by climate change, and to assist communities, households, and businesses in preparing for future climate change driven disruptions.
This bill was reported to Ways and Means.
~A.9712 — Allows local governments to adopt prohibitions on the usage of pesticides in
wetlands. Makes exceptions for the control of invasive species, pests of significant public
health importance, or noxious weeds designated by the Department of Environmental
Conservation, or for the protection of critical native plant species.
This bill was reported to Codes.
Banks
• The Banks Committee reported a bill (A.9507) that establishes the 17-member New York State Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Study Task Force. Directs the Task Force to provide the Governor and the Legislature with information on the effects of the widespread use of cryptocurrencies and other digital currencies and their ancillary systems, including blockchain technology, in the State.
This bill was reported to Ways and Means.
• Despite unanimous Republican opposition, the Banks Committee reported a bill (A.7814) that removes the requirement that fraud or misrepresentation of a material fact with respect to a financial product or service be “intentional” in order for the Superintendent of Financial Services to impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000.
This bill was reported to Codes.
Governmental Employees
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Governmental Employees Committee blocked the following bills:
~A.5013-A (Byrnes) – Provides correction officers with a special optional 20-year retirement plan.
~A.5756 (Bendett) – Removes mandatory hiring ages for municipal police.
~A.6341-A (DeStefano) – Increases the cost-of-living adjustment for public retirees.
~A.6389 (Brook-Krasny) – Provides for a paid leave of absence for public officers and
employees to volunteer as a poll worker.
Codes
• The Codes Committee reported a bill (A.8849) that includes within the class A misdemeanor crime of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm another person, when a person removes (or attempts or threatens to remove) a religious clothing article or headdress from another person because of a belief or perception regarding such person's race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity, or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability, or sexual orientation, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.
This bill was reported to Rules.
• Despite unanimous Republican opposition, the Codes Committee reported a bill (A.1388) to raise the monetary value of intentional property damage required to constitute the class E and class D felony crimes of Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree (from an amount exceeding $250 to an amount exceeding $1,000), and Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree (from an amount exceeding $1,500 to an amount exceeding $3,000).
This bill was reported to Rules.
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Codes Committee blocked the following bills:
~A.4420-A (Reilly) – Expands the class D felony crime of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree to include stealing property off someone’s person or obtaining property by extortion when such victims are age 65 or older.
~A.6141 (Curran) – Creates the crimes of Carjacking in the First, Second, and Third Degrees and makes them violent felony offenses and therefore eligible for bail/remand.
~A.6388 (Brook-Krasny) – Creates the class E felony crime of Criminal Use of Public
Records when a person intentionally obtains any record through the process provided
pursuant to the Public Officers Law (FOIL) with the intent to use such record in the
commission of a crime.
~A.6838 (Beephan) – Establishes the class B felony crime of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance Upon the Grounds of a Drug or Alcohol Treatment Center.
~A.6946 (Mikulin) – Amends the class B misdemeanor crime of Unlawfully Dealing with a Child by raising the minimum age of entry into certain establishments that sell alcohol from 16 to 18, unless certain circumstances are present.
~A.8085 (Angelino) – Exempts pistol permit holders, semi-automatic rifle license holders, and persons licensed to hunt wildlife from undergoing an ammunition background check when purchasing ammunition.
~A.8185 (Blankenbush) – Repeals background check fee provisions for gun and ammunition purchases pursuant to the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA).
~A.9104 (Reilly) – Creates the crime of Aggravated Grand Larceny, a class D felony, when a person commits Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree by stealing an automobile and such person has a previous conviction for that act within the last five years. Makes it a qualifying offense. Prevents adolescent offenders (AOs) from having their criminal case removed to Family Court from the Youth Part of Criminal Court if they are charged with Aggravated Grand Larceny or similar crimes.
~A.9167 (Gandolfo) – Enacts “Laken’s Law” to require law enforcement agencies in New
York State to forward copies of fingerprints and associated reports detailing an arrest of noncitizens to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Requires all courts within the State to notify ICE upon the felony or misdemeanor conviction of a non-citizen. Reinstates the maximum one-year sentence for a class A misdemeanor for deportation purposes. Repeals provisions of law that currently prevent certain immigration-related courthouse arrests.
~A.9180 (Blumencranz) – Enacts the “New York AI Child Safety Act," which criminalizes
the promotion or possession of a sexual performance of a child created by digitization and of sexually explicit depictions of a child created by digitization and increases criminal penalties for committing these acts.
~A.9368 (Novakhov) – Enacts the Criminal Street Gang Abatement Act, which defines
criminal street gang and provides enhanced penalties for persons involved with criminal street gangs. Establishes the Witness Protection Fund.
~A.9719 (McGowan) – Enacts “Diller’s Law” to require the court to commit a defendant to the custody of the sheriff when the defendant is charged with any offense involving the use or possession of a firearm and the firearm used or possessed during the commission of the offense is illegal.
~A.9721 (JA Giglio) – Requires the mandated report issued in cases regarding an officer involved shooting where the Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) either:
declines to present evidence to a grand jury or does present evidence to a grand jury but it
declines to return indictment on any charges, to be issued within 60 days of the initiation of
the investigation instead of “as soon as practicable” as stated in current law.
Week In Focus
• On Wednesday, Assembly Republicans held a press conference to call for a hearing to seek answers related to the potential misuse and abuse of taxpayer dollars related to the migrant crisis and to urge passage of legislation requiring the Comptroller to audit those funds (A.7508, Ra). For more information CLICK HERE and HERE
• Also on Wednesday, Assembly Republicans, along with their Senate Republican Colleagues, held a “Hate has Consequences” press conference to announce legislation aimed at reducing incidents of antisemitism on college campuses in New York (A.10043, Reilly; and S.9193). To view, CLICK HERE
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