Asm. Judy Griffin

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.

Establishes the homeowner protection program; provides that the department of law shall establish the homeowner protection program to ensure the availability of free housing counseling and legal services to homeowners for the purposes of mitigating threats to homeownership; provides that the department of law shall provide grants to eligible not-for-profit housing counseling organizations and legal services organizations to provide services under the program.

Relates to establishing expanded construction mentorship opportunities for small business enterprises where there is privity of contract between a small business enterprise and a subcontractor or contractor working on an authority public works contract.

Establishes maximum contaminant levels in drinking water for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); sets such levels at no higher than 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and no higher than 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA).

Maddy summaryThis New York bill prohibits the sale of products containing 7-hydroxymitragynine (a compound found in some kratom products) when concentrated above 400 parts per million. It directly affects businesses - including stores, online platforms, and other sellers - operating within New York State that sell such products. The law imposes civil fines of up to $3,000 for a first violation and $6,500 for repeat offenses, with collected funds directed to New York's drug treatment and public education programs. The bill defines prohibited products broadly to include any substance, extract, or finished good containing the compound at the specified level.

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.

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.

Adopts the psychology interjurisdictional compact to increase public access to psychological services by allowing telepsychological practice and temporary in-person services across state lines.

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.