Asm. Angelo Santabarbara

Maddy summaryThis bill (A 9026, "Baby Food Safety and Transparency Act") requires baby food manufacturers sold in the state to test products for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury at least monthly using accredited labs. Manufacturers must publicly disclose test results via QR codes on labels showing metal levels and linking to FDA health information. Products exceeding state-established safety limits (based on federal standards) cannot be sold. The law directly affects baby food manufacturers and aims to increase transparency for parents, supplementing but not replacing federal requirements.

Maddy summaryBill A 8477 establishes a peer-to-peer support service program specifically for women veterans. It amends the veterans' services law to mandate coordination with various state agencies, including the office of mental health and the department of labor, for the development and implementation of this program. The bill also adds the establishment of this program as a new, specific function under the veterans' services law. This initiative aims to provide targeted support services tailored to the unique experiences of women who have served in the military.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New York's Office for People with Developmental Disabilities to submit updated waitlist and placement reports twice yearly (every six months) to the Senate and Assembly leadership. The reports must include detailed data on individuals awaiting residential placement (broken down by age, medical needs, and placement type), actual placements made, costs, funding sources, and projections for future needs over five years. It specifically mandates information on individuals in inadequate living situations, failed placements, and plans to address gaps in service. The goal is to provide legislators with transparent, data-driven insights into the state's developmental disability service system.

Provides that certain purchase contracts to purchase food can be awarded to a qualified bidder who fulfills certain values based procurement standards when such bid is not more than 10% higher than the lowest responsible bidder and when the bidder makes publicly available data on where such bidder sources their food items; sets forth the criteria for values based procurement standards to include local economies, environmental resilience, racial equity, valued workforce, valued agricultural sector, animal welfare, and nutrition.

Requires the department of labor create and maintain a list of available careers and job openings for veterans in the state of New York and provide such list to the department of veterans' services; requires such list to be placed on the department of veterans' services website.

Relates to establishing minimum standards for payment plans for eligible customers; requires the public service commission to set standards for payment plans for certain customers including reasonableness of agreements and timelines for payment; establishes eligibility.

Requires child day care centers to have epinephrine devices and staff trained to use them on site in case of anaphylaxis or other severe allergic reaction.

Establishes the "SNAP for students act" requiring the office of temporary and disability assistance to create informational materials to provide information regarding student eligibility for SNAP benefits and to provide digital versions of such materials to institutions of higher education in the state; requires institutions of higher education to notify students of their potential eligibility for SNAP benefits.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates the statewide goal for service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises to secure eight percent of state contracts, increasing the current target of six percent. The change directly affects state procurement departments and veteran-owned businesses by raising the participation benchmark they are expected to meet. By amending the veterans' services law, the legislation sets a new numerical target for future contract awards without altering the underlying process for selecting vendors.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a real property tax exemption for the primary residences of surviving spouses of firefighters who died in the line of duty. It allows local governments and school districts to automatically exempt up to 50% of the assessed value of these homes from taxation, though they retain the option to reduce this percentage if they choose. The law defines eligible firefighters broadly to include paid members of various fire departments and extends the benefit to properties held in trust or by cooperative apartment corporations, while excluding certain types of housing. Additionally, the bill requires the state to develop and publish a list of documents that prove eligibility for this tax relief.