Asm. Jen Lunsford

Establishes the teachers' fossil fuel divestment act; requires the New York state teachers' retirement system to divest the retirement system of any stocks, securities, equities, assets, or other obligations of corporations or companies included on an exclusion list of coal producers and oil and gas producers.

Relates to student financial aid programs; allows absence because of uniformed service, maternity/paternity, FMLA, or due to compensable injury to be creditable time.

Enacts the overdose prevention and recovery act; directs that at least twenty percent of funds from the opioid stewardship fund shall be invested in recovery services and supports; requires an annual report to the legislature regarding funds distributed from the opioid stewardship fund; makes the opioid stewardship fund permanent.

Increases the income thresholds for eligibility for the senior citizen and disabled person property tax exemptions; applies to any local law, resolution or ordinance amended or adopted on and after the effective date of this act.

Directs the commissioner of education to conduct an audit regarding instruction in literacy instruction at institutions of higher education that offers a graduate or undergraduate degree or certification program in education or educational administration located within the state.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases fines for violating public health laws. It raises penalties for nursing home and hospital operators from $3,000 to $5,000 per violation, with repeat offenses or violations causing harm now carrying up to $10,000 or $20,000 fines. Excess fines collected beyond $2,000 per violation go to a patient safety center, while nursing home fines over $10,000 fund quality improvement programs for nursing homes. The changes apply directly to healthcare facilities and their operators under New York's public health and social services laws.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires election commissioners serving on county boards outside New York City to be full-time employees of those boards. It sets a standard of two commissioners per board, with counties having over 120,000 residents allowed to increase this to four via local law. The change applies specifically to election boards in counties outside NYC, altering their commissioner employment structure without affecting NYC-based boards.

Establishes domestic violence crimes when an individual commits or intends to commit a specified offense against a member of the same family or household; defines specified offenses; defines members of the same family; sets forth criteria for the authorized disposition of individuals convicted of a domestic violence crime.

Establishes the fentanyl abuse and overdose prevention task force to conduct a comprehensive study on fentanyl abuse and overdose prevention and to report on the findings and recommendations of the task force.

Directs the department of civil service to conduct a study on competitive examinations for public employment held by the state department of civil service and by municipal commissions to determine whether the contents of such examinations have a discriminatory effect on minority examinees; requires a report on such findings to be delivered to the governor and legislature.