Asm. Harry Bronson

Requires operators of nursing homes and residential health care facilities to provide notification of certain contracts and agreements to all residents, representatives, staff and the office of the long-term care ombudsman.

Relates to parole eligibility for certain incarcerated persons age fifty-five or older.

Relates to extending a moratorium on utility termination of services after the COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted or expires for a period of 180 days after such expiration or until December 31, 2021 whichever is later.

Relates to absentee ballots for school district elections during a declared disaster emergency; a voter can apply for an absentee ballot when they are unable to appear personally at the polling place of the school district in which they are a qualified voter because there is a risk of contracting or spreading a disease that may cause illness to the voter or to other members of the public.

Enacts the "marihuana regulation and taxation act"; establishes the cannabis law; defines terms; establishes the New York state cannabis control board and the office of cannabis management; outlines powers and duties thereof; authorizes the lawful use of medical cannabis; authorizes research programs related thereto; establishes a cannabis research license to permit a licensee to produce, process, purchase and/or possess cannabis for certain limited research purposes; relates to adult-use cannabis; authorizes a person to apply for a license to cultivate, process, distribute, deliver or dispense cannabis for sale in this state; relates to the description of cannabis, and the growing of and use of cannabis by persons twenty-one years of age or older; makes technical changes regarding the definition of cannabis; relates to removing certain references to marijuana relating to forfeiture actions; relates to the qualification of certain offenses involving cannabis; exempts certain persons from prosecution for the use, consumption, display, production or distribution of cannabis; relates to the definition of smoking; provides for the licensure of persons authorized to produce, process and sell marihuana; relates to the criminal sale of cannabis; relates to drug paraphernalia; adds a new article on cannabis to the penal law; authorizes a motion for resentence for persons convicted of certain marihuana offenses; levies an excise tax on certain sales of cannabis; creates the New York state cannabis revenue fund, the New York state drug treatment and public education fund and the New York state community grants reinvestment fund.

Requires residential health care facilities to update residents, authorized family members, and guardians of residents of the presence of an infection and to have in their pandemic emergency plan a plan or procedure for designating a separate cohort area.

Directs the department of health to establish and implement an infection inspection audit and checklist on residential care facilities, nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

Provides for the authorization and regulation of visitation of compassionate care-giving visitors at nursing homes and residential health care facilities.