Asm. Angelo Santabarbara

Enacts the "faith-based affordable housing act" for development on residential land; defines terms; provides that each village, town, and city shall allow the construction and occupation of residential buildings on any covered site up to the specified densities; provides that all residential buildings constructed pursuant to this section in a town, village, or city with fewer than one million inhabitants shall set aside twenty percent of the residential floor area for households earning an average of eighty percent of area median income; outlines the densities for New York city; makes related provisions.

Provides lifetime, premium-free insurance through the New York state of health marketplace to a person who donates a kidney during the course of their lifetime; establishes the kidney donor insurance fund.

Imposes fines for failure to exercise due care and move over when approaching parked, stopped or standing motor vehicles on the shoulder of a highway.

Enacts the "internet service outage consumer protection act"; requires every internet service provider operating in this state to issue a prorated bill credit to consumers for any internet service outage lasting more than one hour.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates New York's animal cruelty laws by clarifying key definitions (like "cruelty," "companion animal," and "farm animal") and repealing outdated sections of the Agriculture and Markets Law. It adds a new requirement that courts can order owners to post security for animal care costs when an animal is seized for cruelty charges. The law directly affects animal cruelty enforcement (including police, humane societies, and shelters), animal owners (especially regarding ear clipping), and courts handling animal-related cases. Key changes include strengthening officer authority to intervene in cruelty cases and specifying how costs for seized animals should be covered.

Directs the use of a standardized immunization exemption form; requires the commissioner of health to develop a standardized medical immunization exemption request form for school use.

Establishes the toll-free overnight hours pilot program to reduce traffic congestion during peak hours, provide economic relief to drivers and businesses, and encourage efficient freight operations by implementing toll-free travel during designated overnight hours on the New York state thruway; repeals certain provisions upon expiration thereof.

Enacts the "ensuring access to behavioral health act"; includes mental health services, substance use disorder treatment services and recovery support services to network adequacy requirements for insurance coverage.

Expands the applicability of the assessment exemption for living quarters for parent or grandparent to include living quarters constructed or reconstructed before the effective date of the section providing such exemption.

Relates to including at least one person who is familiar with the needs of students with disabilities in the development of school safety plans; provides that building-level response plans shall include a list including each student with a disability enrolled at the site together with information from the student's individualized education program (IEP) that is relevant to ensuring the student's safety and the role of the staff member responsible for assisting the student in an emergency.