Asm. Stefani Zinerman

Directs the commissioner of health to contract with an independent entity to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the existing methodology used to determine payment for early intervention screenings, evaluations, services and service coordination; directs recommendations on reimbursement methodology as well as needs under the program.

Enacts the "Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection Act"; relates to the delegation of state enforcement authority to private actors; authorizes an affected employee, whistleblower, representative organization or an organizational deputy to initiate a public enforcement action on behalf of the commissioner for certain provisions of the labor law, or any regulation promulgated thereunder.

Codifies the disparate impact standard in the human rights law; provides that in cases of alleged housing discrimination, an unlawful discriminatory practice may be established by a practice's discriminatory effect.

Extends paid family leave benefits to employees who perform construction, demolition, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs, renovations, alterations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement who shall be eligible for family leave benefits if they were employed for at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine weeks by any covered employer which is signatory to a collective bargaining agreement.

Requires the developmental disabilities advisory council to submit an annual report to the governor, temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on the activities of the council, and to make such report public.

Enacts the monarch preservation plan requiring the department of environmental conservation to take feasible actions to conserve monarch butterflies and the unique habitats they depend upon for successful migration.

Provides for expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services without a prescription or physician's order; repeals certain cost sharing requirements for such services.

Requires hospitals to establish a violence prevention program which includes a workplace safety and security assessment and develop a safety and security plan that addresses identified workplace violence threats or hazards.

Relates to eligibility for classification as permanent total disability; includes inability to perform the full range of sedentary work or approval for federal social security disability benefits as a result of a compensable accident or occupational disease as constituting permanent total disability.

Maddy summaryBill A 5320 expands tuition assistance eligibility in New York to include students experiencing homelessness, aligning with federal McKinney-Vento Act standards. It requires the state to adopt a uniform verification method for homelessness status using the same federal guidelines applied to student financial aid. The bill also clarifies that homeless students (classified under federal foster care or McKinney-Vento criteria) cannot be considered "emancipated" for aid purposes, ensuring they retain eligibility without requiring parental control relinquishment. This directly affects homeless students seeking state tuition assistance under New York’s education law.