Rep. Sam Berger

Extends the duration of limited permits to practice licensed clinical social work and use the title licensed clinical social worker, or practice licensed master social work and use the title licensed master social worker from twelve to twenty-four months with the ability to be renewed for up to two additional one-year periods.

Enacts "Tucker's law"; removes the provision that provides that any term of imprisonment for a violation of aggravated cruelty to animals may not exceed two years.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows graduates of accredited master of social work programs to work under supervision for up to 90 days after graduation without full licensure. It requires these graduates to apply for and pay fees for both a license examination and a limited permit to practice. The law also clarifies which individuals are excluded from performing social work services, including students, clergy, and certain government employees, while establishing a temporary pathway for recent graduates to gain practical experience before full licensure.

Maddy summaryBill A 2619 establishes specific rights for residents and cooperatives in ground lease residential cooperative apartment buildings. Upon the expiration of a ground lease, the cooperative must dissolve, and residents are converted to tenants, with rental leases offered under existing tenant protection laws. The bill also allows cooperatives to encumber their interest in the ground lease, requiring ground lease owners to provide reasonable cause for refusal if consent is needed. Additionally, it grants ground lease residential cooperatives a right of first refusal to purchase the ground lease real property if the owner decides to sell it.

Maddy summaryThis bill ensures students with disabilities attending non-public schools in New York have the same due process rights and equitable access to special education services as students in public schools. It requires school districts to create individualized education service plans (IESPs) for these students and allows parents to challenge decisions through established due process procedures. The bill clarifies deadlines for parents to request services (by June 1st for the next school year, or within 30 days of disability identification/residence change) and specifies that the student's district of residence must provide these services directly or via contract.

Requires the consumer protection division to establish a process by which any state agency or third party, pursuant to an interagency agreement with the division for the purposes of fraud prevention, identity verification, and ensuring the integrity or security of individual identities, to grant access to verify New York resident identities via a secure comparison process against state systems.

Provides that the thruway authority shall issue permits for ambulances and fire vehicles exempting such vehicles from paying tolls on the thruway when engaged in an emergency operation.

Prohibits the use of intoxication of the victim as a defense in sex crimes where the victim is under the influence of any drug, intoxicant, or other substance to a degree which rendered the victim temporarily incapable of appraising or controlling such person's conduct and such condition was known or reasonably should have been known to a person in the actor's situation.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the New York State Bridge Authority to install specialized fencing on all bridges it operates. The fencing must prevent climbing by using features like welded wire mesh panels, tightly spaced wires, and spike collars. It applies to all new bridge construction contracts and mandates installation within three years of the law's effective date. The measure directly affects the Bridge Authority and its contractors, focusing solely on the physical safety requirement without broader policy changes.

Provides that transportation shall be provided to all children attending grades kindergarten through twelve who live within a fifteen mile radius of the school they legally attend; provides that such transportation may also be provided for such students to before-and/or-after-school child care locations.