Asm. Jen Lunsford

Maddy summaryThis bill requires health insurance plans to cover backup cochlear implant devices for patients who need them, including during device upgrades or replacements after the initial implant. It directly affects patients with cochlear implants who currently lose access to backup equipment after 3-5 years, as insurers only cover backups at the time of initial surgery. The law mandates that insurance must cover the backup device (external components like a processor) whenever prescribed by a qualified healthcare provider, as long as the patient is using the implant. Coverage will follow standard insurance terms like deductibles and copays but must remain available throughout the patient's need for the device, effective January 2027.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits operating, promoting, or supporting online sweepstakes games in New York that simulate casino-style gaming (like slot machines or poker) and allow players to exchange points for cash. It directly affects game operators, licensed gaming entities, financial institutions, payment processors, and media affiliates that facilitate these activities. Key provisions require the state gaming commission or attorney general to deny licenses or enforce penalties, including fines of $10,000-$100,000 per violation, with fines funding problem gambling education. Enforcement includes investigations, cease-and-desist orders, and hearings by state authorities.

Requires each appropriate institution housing a defendant due to mental disease or defect to assign a critical time intervention care management team to the defendant and make a single point of access referral for the defendant prior to such defendant's discharge.

Enacts the "freedom to read act"; requires the commissioner of education and school library systems to develop policies to ensure that school libraries and library staff are empowered to curate and develop collections that provide students with access to the widest array of developmentally appropriate materials available.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes strict time limits for defendants adding new parties to lawsuits (called "third-party complaints"). It requires defendants to file such claims within 60 days of answering the original lawsuit, with deadlines shrinking to 20 days for subsequent parties added in chain reactions. The law provides an exception for workers' compensation cases involving serious injuries, allowing up to 120 days to file if the employer's identity wasn't known earlier. It prohibits adding new parties after a "note of issue" is filed and bans consolidating severed third-party cases.

Provides for the inclusion of a faculty or staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges elected by and from among the faculty and staff of the college.

Prohibits the sale of kratom to individuals under the age of twenty-one; imposes a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for the sale or provision of kratom to any person under the age of twenty-one.

Relates to reporting unmet need, which is the number of eligible individuals seeking participation in a program or service who are not receiving such program or service due to insufficient resources or capacity.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires utility companies and contractors to provide detailed electronic records identifying pole attachments, including equipment owners, contractors, work dates, and safety compliance details. It creates an online public complaint system for reporting unsafe attachments, equipment hazards, or violations of safety standards like the National Electrical Safety Code. The commission must investigate complaints within two weeks and can issue fines up to $20,000 for first violations, $50,000 for second violations, or stop-work orders for third violations. The law directly affects utility providers, telecom companies, and contractors working on utility poles, aiming to improve public safety and accountability through standardized reporting and enforcement.

Directs counties, in coordination with their regional emergency medical services councils, to develop and maintain comprehensive county emergency medical system plans that provide for coordinated emergency medical systems within such counties.