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Floor News
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
On January 21, the Assembly adopted a resolution (K.28) commemorating the observance of the 40th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the State of New York.
Mifepristone and Misoprostol Prescription Labeling
The Assembly and Senate passed a bill (A.2145-A) to allow pharmacies to substitute the name of the health care practice for the name of the prescriber when the dispensing or prescribing practice prescribes mifepristone, misoprostol, and their generic alternatives (vote: 95-42).
“New York Health Information Privacy Act”
The Assembly and Senate passed a bill (A.2141) prohibiting regulated entities from selling health information to a third party or processing that information without the customer’s explicit authorization (except when strictly necessary for specified limited purposes). The bill also requires regulated entities to implement safeguards to protect and securely dispose of regulated information while allowing customers to have their information deleted upon request (vote: 96-41).
Committee News
Environmental Conservation
The Environmental Conservation Committee reported a bill (A.1474) that enacts a chapter amendment to the Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Program (Chapter 679 of the Laws of 2024). This chapter amendment makes numerous changes to the original chapter, including:
~Expanding the covered period for this program from 2000-2018 to 2000-2024;
~Empowering the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to determine the portion of the $75 billion responsible fossil fuel companies need to pay into the Climate Change Adaptation Fund;
~Authorizing DEC to require fossil fuel companies to provide information to DEC to enable the Department to determine whether they are a responsible party for greenhouse gas emissions and, if so, the amount of such company’s covered emissions;
~Excluding foreign nations that hold or held ownership or interest in a fossil fuel business during the covered period from any financial responsibility under this act;
~Providing a framework for responsible parties to file a request for reconsideration; and Delaying the timeline for DEC to promulgate regulations necessary to carry out this law from one year to 30 months after the effective date of this act.This bill was reported to Codes and subsequently to Ways and Means, Rules, and the Floor.
Health
The Health Committee reported the following bills:
~A.565: Prohibits the approval or expansion of any new hospice operated on a for-profit basis or by a for-profit entity (whether in whole or in part). This bill was reported to the Floor.
~A.2581: Establishes a reproductive health services education and outreach program within the Department of Health (DOH) and tasks DOH with conducting education and outreach to consumers, patients, educators, and health care providers on available reproductive health services.This bill was reported to Ways and Means and subsequently to Rules.
Codes
Despite unanimous Republican opposition, the Codes Committee reported the following chapter amendments to Rules and subsequently to the Floor:
~A.436: Amends Chapter 429 of the Laws of 2024, which defined pistol converter and requires gun industry members to take reasonable steps to prevent the installation and use of a pistol converter on “qualified products” (i.e., semi-automatic pistols). This chapter amendment adds pistol converter to the definition of a rapid-fire modification device. ~A.437: Amends Chapter 428 of the Laws of 2024, which requires gunsmiths and gun dealers to post, and licensing officers to provide, warnings that firearms and weapons increase the risk of death/suicide in the home. Violators face a maximum fine of $1,000 and/or up to 15 days imprisonment. This chapter amendment replaces the term weapon with rifle and shotgun,exempts licensing officers from the law’s penalty provisions, and removes the requirement tha tonly local police officers provide enforcement.
~ A.813: Amends Chapter 648 of the Laws of 2024, which directs the State Police and the DCJS Municipal Police Training Council to develop and disseminate to State and local law enforcement, policies and procedures regarding child-sensitive arrest practices when the parent,guardian, or other person legally charged with the care or custody of a child less than 18 is arrested. This chapter amendment replaces the requirement that policies and procedures must“ensure the identification and safety of the child” with language that such policies and procedures must “address situations” where the arrestee is responsible for the care and custody of a child under 18.
The Codes Committee reported the following chapter amendments:
~A.814: Amends Chapter 432 of the Laws of 2024, which requires a licensing officer to provide statewide resources and information relating to child access prevention, firearm violence prevention and county and local specific laws and regulations related to child access prevention and safe storage of firearms to new firearm licensees. It also directs the DCJS Commissioner to develop and implement a public awareness campaign to educate the public on the safe storage of firearms, rifles and shotguns and child access and prevention. This chapter amendment transfers the responsibility of implementing the public awareness campaign from the DCJS Commissioner to the DOH Commissioner. This bill was reported to Rules and subsequently to the Floor.
~ A.921: Amends Chapter 622 of the Laws of 2024, which allowed the court to issue a protective order to prevent disclosure of juror names when good cause exists, including whether the defendant or someone acting on their behalf previously bribed, tampered with, caused, or attempted to cause physical injury to or harassed a juror or prospective juror. This chapter amendment clarifies that the standard is to be based “upon a finding that there is good cause to believe that a threat to the safety or integrity of the jury exists.” This bill was reported to Rules and subsequently to the Floor
Week in Focus
On January 21, Governor Hochul released her $252 billion Executive Budget.
Joint Legislative Budget Hearings will begin next week. To view the schedule CLICK HERE.
On January 22, Assemblywoman Giglio and Members of the Assembly Republican Conference called on the state to fix the new online system for the Early Intervention Program (EIHub). To view the press conference CLICK HERE.
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