Asm. Fred Thiele

Maddy summaryThis bill updates how the state calculates payment rates for federally qualified health centers to better reflect their actual operating costs. It requires the health department to analyze cost data from the previous five years, taking into account factors like the scope of services, staffing needs, and technology expenses. Starting in April 2025, the department must issue new payment rates based on this analysis, explicitly removing previous caps on payments as long as they remain eligible for federal funding. The law also changes how future rate adjustments are made, shifting from a standard Medicare index to a specific market basket measure for periods after September 2025.

Directs the division of criminal justice services to establish a program for the care of retired law enforcement dogs which shall cover the cost of veterinary care for retired law enforcement dogs for the remainder of the lifetime of such dogs.

Expands the definition of "family leave" to include persons recovering from the unintended intrauterine death of a fetus that occurs after the clinical estimate of the twentieth week of gestation.

Relates to reviews by the authorities budget office; grants the authorities budget office the authority to commence an action or special proceeding to annul the corporate existence or dissolve a corporation that has acted beyond its capacity or power; makes related provisions.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows patients to register for organ, eye, and tissue donation directly through their electronic health records, expanding the ways people can join the Donate Life Registry. It requires hospitals and electronic health record vendors to include a simple option for patients to sign up during their medical visits without charging extra fees. The law also clarifies that skipping this question or failing to check a box does not cancel any previous donation consent a person has already given. By integrating this registration into digital health tools, the bill aims to make it easier for individuals to record their wishes regarding anatomical gifts.

Provides that in toxic tort cases the date of discovery of the injury by the plaintiff or claimant is presumed to be the date of diagnosis and where the specific toxic etiological cause of injury is not known for up to ten years (instead of five years) after the injury itself is discovered a plaintiff shall have three years to file a claim from the time such specific cause is discovered.

Prohibits accessing or distributing certain sexually explicit depictions of children; prohibits consent to such depictions by anyone under eighteen years of age; makes such crimes eligible for bail; includes certain crimes as sex offenses.

Relates to requiring certain town and village justices be admitted to practice law in the state; requires town and village justices in a town or village with a high arraignment volume be admitted to practice law in New York state for at least five years as of the date they commence the duties of office; provides the determination of a town or village with a high arraignment volume shall be made by the office of court administration in consultation with the division of criminal justice services.

Provides that where the total number of commercial food fish license, commercial crab permits, commercial whelk and conch licenses, and marine and coastal district party and charter boat license applications from persons who were not issued such license in the previous year exceeds the number of licenses that are available, the department of environmental conservation shall randomly select recipients of the available licenses from among those applications received by the first business day of the applicable license year; provides for a temporary authorization where in the event of a temporary emergency, a licensee or permittee may provide written authorization for a person to temporarily undertake any licensed activities on the licensee's or permittee's behalf; makes related provisions.

Enacts the "New York wildlife crossing act"; directs the department of transportation and the New York state thruway authority to identify sites along all highways, thruways and parkways in the state where wildlife crossings are most needed to increase public safety and improve habitat connectivity and create a priority list of wildlife opportunity areas where federal grant monies may be available to implement the top five projects identified.