Lowers the voting age to 16 years; requires that students receive education in civics and be given the opportunity to register to vote in the classroom.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires New York's Office of Children and Family Services to automatically include any annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in the next base payment rate for foster care providers. It directly affects foster care providers - such as relatives, agencies, and family boarding homes - who receive state aid for caring for foster children. The key provision mandates that COLAs provided in a given year must be incorporated into the following year's base rate, added to any existing adjustments like trend factors or staff retention bonuses. This ensures foster care payments rise with inflation without needing separate legislative action each year.
Establishes the "education equity act" which provides language assistance to parents or guardians who have children enrolled in public school and whose primary language is not English; defines terms; creates an annual language assistance plan to assess language needs in the district; requires the department of education to establish web pages detailing the rights of parents to translation services in each covered language; requires annual reports by each school district to the local board of education.
Makes migrant youth under the age of 25 who are receiving runaway and homeless youth services eligible to receive housing vouchers under the family homelessness and eviction prevention supplement ("FHEPS") program.
Enacts the "state and local clean energy partnership", directing the public service commission to establish a standard New York state community choice aggregation program for all utility service territories.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires Queens County's election board to provide written language assistance in Bengali, Punjabi, and Hindi for all election materials. It directly affects Queens County voters who speak these languages by making ballots, signs, voter mailings, training materials, and website content available in these languages. Key provisions include creating a multilingual voter booklet with registration forms, absentee ballot instructions, and general information in all three languages. The requirement aligns with federal voting rights law and applies to all election-related materials countywide.
Provides that every policy which provides coverage for hospital, surgical or medical care or provides reimbursement for laboratory tests or diagnostic X-rays shall provide coverage for testing of familial dysautonomia, Canavan's disease and Tay-Sachs; provides that in order to maintain the confidentiality of persons tested, receipt of acknowledgement from the testing facility shall be deemed sufficient evidence of testing.
Maddy summaryThis bill repeals a requirement that applicants must pass an exam to become a licensed master social worker in New York. It directly affects individuals seeking this specific license by removing the examination step from the qualification process. The key provision eliminates Section 7704(d) of the Education Law, which previously mandated the exam. As a result, applicants will no longer need to pass a test to qualify for the license, simplifying the licensing pathway. The change takes effect immediately upon enactment.
Requires insurance coverage of sonograms and other diagnostic procedures used to detect breast cancer for covered persons with a prior history of breast cancer or who have a first degree relative with a prior history of breast cancer.
Maddy summaryThis bill makes possessing a flamethrower a class E felony under New York law. It defines a "flamethrower" as any device projecting burning fuel at least three feet, excluding inoperable displays. The law specifically excludes historical flamethrowers (built before 1966 with at least five significant pre-1966 components), those used for agriculture/construction, and flamethrowers owned before the law takes effect. It does not ban manufacturing or restoring components, only possession of active devices meeting the definition. The law takes effect 120 days after enactment.
