Asm. Catalina Cruz

Enacts the "crash victims bill of rights"; requires accident reports to be delivered to victims of accidents or their next of kin; requires victim impact statements to be delivered at traffic infraction hearings by injured parties or their next of kin; requires employers to grant leave of absence to employees delivering a victim impact statement at a traffic infraction hearing; directs the superintendent of financial services to conduct a study and complete a report on certain automobile crash information.

Establishes the NY food insecurity, farm resiliency and rural poverty initiative to provide financial assistance in the form of matching grants, hiring assistance, purchasing assistance, tax credits, tax exemptions, and reimbursements.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires attorneys appointed to represent children in certain court proceedings to complete specific training. All such attorneys must receive six hours of initial training and ongoing training as determined by the court. The training must cover domestic violence dynamics, juvenile delinquency law, and how these issues relate to custody, visitation, and child support decisions. It also mandates that training programs and providers receive approval from both the Office of Court Administration and the State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence.

Requires public agencies to establish preliminary license application procedures to determine whether an applicant for a license would be ineligible for such license based on criminal history; establishes time frames for public agencies to respond to such applications; requires public agencies to report information regarding granting licenses annually.

Amends early voting provisions; provides that an application for an absentee ballot that does not provide a reason that the applicant is entitled to such a ballot shall be processed as an application for an early mail ballot.

Prohibits access to video and audio recordings from smart surveillance devices without a warrant; voids contractual provisions permitting such access.

Establishes the office of flooding prevention and mitigation to manage and coordinate the work of task forces, commissions, and other bodies and programs tasked with examining issues related to flooding, to review and assess best practices and make recommendations regarding flood prevention and mitigation, and to assist municipalities in developing strategies and policies to combat flooding.

Maddy summaryThis bill exempts sales tax on school supplies purchased between the fourth Thursday in August and the first Monday in September. It directly affects families buying items like backpacks, notebooks, art supplies, and computers priced under $3,000 during this specific back-to-school window. The law covers classroom essentials including pencils, calculators, glue, and writing instruments, as listed in the bill text. This policy change removes sales tax liability for these purchases during the designated period, providing a temporary financial benefit for households.

Prohibits the disclosure of individualized fare payment data by the metropolitan commuter transportation authority and the New York city transit authority for the purpose of maintaining customer privacy; provides certain exceptions when such data can be disclosed.

Requires certain documents and forms to be provided in the twelve most common non-English languages spoken by limited English proficient immigrants of five years or less according to the American community survey, as published by the United States census bureau.