Relates to protecting the communication rights of individuals with disabilities; provides that each person with a disability has the right to communicate in their preferred manner.
Maddy summaryThis bill (A 1966) expands New York's animal cruelty law to include wildlife animals - such as deer, birds, or other non-insect species - as protected under the law, alongside companion animals. It directly affects wildlife by adding them to the list of animals covered by cruelty provisions, meaning intentional harm to these animals could now be prosecuted under the law. The key mechanism amends the law to define "wildlife" per environmental conservation law, while explicitly maintaining exemptions for lawful hunting, trapping, fishing, pest control, and other authorized activities. This change does not alter existing legal activities like hunting or pest management but extends cruelty protections to wildlife for the first time under this specific statute.
Maddy summaryThis bill changes how parking violation notices are handled in New York. It requires hearing examiners to provide written decisions explaining the legal basis for each ticket's outcome (guilty or not guilty) and gives drivers the option to request a hearing for each individual ticket. The bill also mandates that the state surcharge must be paid unless a hearing officer dismisses the ticket based on specific merits presented by the driver. These changes aim to increase transparency and fairness for drivers contesting parking violations.
Enacts the "fair pay for home care act" relating to minimum wages applicable to home care aides; provides for a minimum wage of 150% of the applicable statewide or regional minimum wage.
Establishes protections for adults sixty years of age or older, or at least the age of eighteen and who, because of mental or physical impairments, are unable to manage their own resources or protect themselves from financial exploitation without assistance from others.
Increases Medicaid reimbursement rates for certain behavioral health services provided to individuals under the age of twenty-one; directs that funds in the healthcare stability fund can be used for the funding of children's behavioral health outpatient rate increases.
Maddy summaryThis bill increases weekly financial benefits for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers injured in the line of duty. It raises permanent total disability payments from $600 to $1,200 per week and updates temporary total disability rates, with the current rate at $800 per week for injuries occurring after July 2025. Permanent partial disability payments also increase, with rates rising from $95 to higher amounts depending on the injury date. The changes apply directly to volunteers who suffer work-related injuries affecting their ability to work. The bill amends Sections 8, 9, and 10 of the Volunteer Firefighters' Benefit Law.
Enacts the "consumer utility meter choice protection act"; allows customers to decline the installation of smart meters without being liable for fees.
Provides that where the commissioner of health assumes the responsibility for the transportation of medicaid recipients in rural areas, existing public transportation systems shall be used when such systems are appropriate, available and the least expensive modes of transportation.
Relates to exemptions available to veterans; requires school districts to provide the veterans alternative exemption; establishes that costs associated with such exemption shall be borne by the state.
