New York Bills

Provides that the process for declining designation to a county committee party position does not need to be included in the notice provided by the board of elections of the city of New York of such party position designation.

S 799 permits candidates for public office to remain employed by a board of elections while running for office, provided the board’s commissioners approve with a majority vote. It requires candidates to be restricted from working on election matters in their own district and mandates the state board to create rules governing this employment. The bill also allows candidates to stay on payroll for up to 90 days before a general election if no primary exists for their office. This replaces a previous ban on such employment, creating a formal process for candidates to maintain their positions under specific conditions.

This bill establishes a statewide framework for regulating short-term rental units (like Airbnb listings) in most New York communities. It requires hosts in "covered jurisdictions" (nearly all counties, cities, towns, and villages except New York City, certain large-county areas, and localities that opt out) to register their units and comply with safety standards, including fire extinguishers, evacuation diagrams, and minimum $300,000 liability insurance. Local governments may choose to opt out of the system entirely or create their own registration rules, while hosts in areas without local regulations must follow the state requirements. The law aims to balance tourism with community safety and local control, applying specifically to rentals offered for less than 30 consecutive days.

Relates to the climate change adaptation cost recovery program and requirements for climate change adaptive infrastructure projects; relates to the use of funds from the climate change adaptation fund for certain projects; relates to the disclosure of certain data from returns of petroleum or fossil fuel businesses; relates to expenditure of funds from the climate change adaptation fund; repeals certain provisions; relates to severability and legislative findings.

This bill (S 819) updates New York's surrogacy laws to clarify legal parentage and financial responsibilities. It requires courts to issue immediate parentage judgments after a surrogacy birth, naming intended parents as the sole legal parents, removing the surrogate's parental rights, and directing hospitals to update birth certificates per the court order. The bill also mandates that intended parents cover all surrogacy-related medical costs - including preconception care, pregnancy expenses, and postnatal care - through comprehensive health insurance or escrow funds. These changes apply directly to intended parents, surrogates, and courts handling surrogacy cases in New York. (Note: Bill was signed into law as Chapter 98 on February 28, 2025.)

This bill exempts municipalities with fewer than 1,500 residents (based on the latest federal census) from the requirement to maintain an official .gov website. Larger municipalities (1,500+ residents) must still maintain updated websites containing basic information like election notices, meeting agendas, and local laws. Smaller towns must comply "to the extent practicable" but are no longer subject to the full website mandate. The change directly affects small-town governments by reducing administrative requirements while keeping core transparency obligations for larger communities.

This bill modifies New York's insurance law to regulate "step therapy" protocols used by health insurers. It directly affects patients and insurers by limiting how insurers can require patients to try lower-cost drugs before covering a prescribed medication. Key provisions include capping required drug trials at two per condition, banning protocols for unapproved or unsupported drugs, requiring insurer acceptance of doctors' written proof of drug failure as valid evidence, and preventing redundant step therapy for patients who recently completed it under another plan. The changes take effect January 1, 2026.

This bill allows any town in New York with a 2020 census population between 69,000 and 69,500 to create a homestead exemption for real property taxes. It enables qualifying towns to offer an exemption similar to the existing STAR school tax relief program, capping the exemption at $50,000 in property value. Property owners must apply annually using a standard form, and the exemption applies only to eligible homes meeting the same criteria as STAR. This directly affects homeowners in qualifying towns by potentially reducing their local property tax burden.

Relates to veterans tuition awards program eligibility; makes tuition awards available for certain veterans including, but not limited to Vietnam, Persian Gulf and Afghanistan.

Provides that each student loan servicer shall submit an annual report containing a list of all private education creditors associated with the private education debts serviced by the student loan servicer that are owed by persons who resided in New York during the prior calendar year and containing additional information for each private education creditor reported.

Requires the commissioner of health to consult with the office of addiction services and supports and relevant stakeholders as determined by such commissioner in addition to the office of mental health to publish guidance for incorporating maternal depression screenings into routine prenatal care; changes the effective date to eighteen months.

This bill requires New York State agencies that collect demographic data to create separate categories for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) groups, including specific examples like Egyptian, Moroccan, Yemeni, and Iranian. It directly affects state agencies, boards, departments, and commissions that gather data on residents' ancestry or ethnic origin. Key provisions mandate these agencies to use distinct categories for MENA groups in their data collection, include the data in annual demographic reports starting January 2025 (with some agencies having a 2026 deadline), and post the data publicly online. The law aims to improve data accuracy for reporting on ethnic origins, without changing eligibility for services or creating new policies.