Asm. Anna Kelles

Enacts the "food safety and chemical disclosure act"; prohibits certain food additives and food color additives; provides that in an action to enforce compliance, the recognition by the federal food and drug administration of any of these substances as safe may not be alleged as a defense; establishes requirements for the reporting of GRAS (generally recognized as safe) substances.

Requires manufactured home park owners to provide a written justification for rent increases in excess of three percent of the current rent; provides that increases in costs to justify such rent increase for ordinary maintenance or repair to meet the warranty of habitability obligations must be shown to be necessary.

Establishes the build up New York pilot program to provide grants to eligible municipalities that construct new accessory dwelling unit housing projects built on top of existing buildings that utilize mass timber and serve certain households; establishes the mass timber for affordable housing program to provide tax credits for eligible taxpayers who use mass timber in certain new construction or major retrofits of existing buildings that primarily serve households up to one hundred fifty percent of the area median income; establishes tax credits for mass timber production.

Establishes the mental health educational opportunity program and the mental health higher educational opportunity program to provide additional educational opportunities for students at certain universities and colleges in the state to enroll in academic programs that lead to a degree or degrees required for licensure in any of the mental health professions.

Relates to the topics of the course required to be taken by practitioners certifying patients as eligible for medical cannabis; establishes the endocannabinoid system awareness program; requires the office of cannabis awareness and the department of health to publish information about the endocannabinoid system awareness program on their websites.

Requires insurance companies to deposit a certain percentage of premiums collected but not paid out in prior years for abortion care to the reproductive health care access fund for use for grants under the reproductive freedom and equity grant program; establishes the reproductive health care access fund; relates to the use of funds under the reproductive freedom and equity grant program; directs the governor to provide for funding in the state budget.

Maddy summaryThis bill sets new rules for New York's Medicaid inspector general when auditing healthcare providers' billing for medical assistance payments. It defines key terms like "overpayment" and "clerical error," requires auditors to follow specific standards, and limits how they can spread audit findings to all claims (extrapolation) for minor, isolated errors. Providers must receive detailed audit reports explaining findings and have the right to submit supporting documentation before final decisions. The bill also mandates annual reporting on audit activities to state officials, including how many audits used extrapolation and their financial impact.

Enacts the "bird safe buildings act" directing the commissioner of general services to incorporate practices and strategies to reduce bird fatality resulting from collisions with certain state-owned or state-leased buildings, and for other purposes; requires the commissioner to develop a design guide that includes features, methods and strategies, and best practices for reducing bird fatalities.

Permits other qualifying members of a household to qualify the household for the disability rent increase exemption when they are not the head of household.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a state-funded program to provide health insurance coverage to New Yorkers who lose eligibility for federal subsidies due to their immigration status. It establishes a new state premium assistance program that offers financial help equivalent to federal tax credits for lawfully present individuals who are currently ineligible for federal aid. Additionally, the legislation expands eligibility for existing state coverage to include more noncitizens and increases income limits for pregnant individuals and their newborns, with some provisions funded directly by state money regardless of federal approval.