S 8654 New York Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Enacts the New York state good guardianship act

This bill creates the "New York State Good Guardianship Act," establishing a statewide initiative to expand access to not-for-profit guardianship services for New Yorkers over 18 who are legally determined to need a guardian due to incapacity under Mental Hygiene Law Article 81. It allocates state funding through a new dedicated fund to support qualified non-profit organizations that provide free or low-cost guardianship services - including financial management, healthcare coordination, and daily living assistance - replacing unscrupulous for-profit providers. The initiative will operate a public helpline for guidance, require data collection on service outcomes, and aim to reduce Medicaid costs by preventing avoidable hospitalizations and shelter stays. Participating organizations must be tax-exempt and experienced, with the program administered by a state-selected lead agency and subject to annual performance reporting.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Jun 2026
Senate Passage
Jun 2026
Assembly Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 7, 2026 Last action Jun 1, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

S8654A S8654B · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from version A to version B and updated its internal tracking number. The most significant substantive change is the specification of the program's location: it is now explicitly established within the 'office for the aging' rather than just 'the office.' Additionally, the list of bill actions was reorganized to clarify the sequence of committee discharges and amendments.
Scope change
The scope of the bill's administrative home was clarified by specifying the 'office for the aging' as the entity establishing the program, whereas the previous version referred to it more generally as 'the office.'
DEFINITION

The specific office responsible for the program was changed from a general reference to 'the office' to the specific 'office for the aging'.

TECHNICAL

The bill's title number was updated from '8654--A' to '8654--B', and the internal document tracking number was updated from 'LBD13789-07-6' to 'LBD13789-12-6'.

The text describing the legislative process was restructured to better sequence the committee discharges and bill amendments.

Floor votes · Senate Jun 1, 2026

How they voted

564
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 63
Jun 1, 2026
D Democratic41
38 Yea 3
92% Yea
R Republican22
18 Yea 4 Nay
81% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
11
Key actions
5
Committee
4
Amendments
4
Jun 1, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS
lower
Jun 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
PASSED SENATE
upper
Jun 1, 2026
Committee
COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
upper
May 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
PRINT NUMBER 8654B
upper
May 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO FINANCE
upper
May 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
PRINT NUMBER 8654A
upper
May 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO FINANCE
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
upper
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO AGING
upper
1 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors