Prohibits the use of restraints on incarcerated individuals during labor, absent extraordinary circumstances, and on pregnant persons during a custodial interrogation.
Grants employees access to personnel records; requires notice of negative information in such records and an opportunity for a review; permits employee to include certain information in personnel records.
Enacts the "voting integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)"; provides that each voter is entitled to the use of an individual, voter verifiable paper ballot of the voter's vote and the opportunity to mark it.
Maddy summaryThis bill aims to improve the health, safety, and human rights of pregnant and postpartum individuals in correctional facilities and their young children. It mandates comprehensive medical care, including prenatal screenings, labor support, mental health services, and privacy protections, while also ensuring access to nutritious food and safe living conditions. Additionally, the legislation establishes a right for children born in these facilities to remain with their parents until the child is eighteen months old, or until the parent is paroled if that occurs sooner, with specific exceptions only for clear and convincing evidence of imminent risk to the child.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires state prisons and detention centers to provide incarcerated individuals with free voice communication services, such as phone calls, without charging them or their families. It explicitly prohibits correctional facilities from earning any revenue from these communications and mandates that in-person visit programs continue to operate alongside these services. The law applies to contracts signed on or after April 1, 2025, and ensures that any existing contracts for these services must end by March 31, 2025.
Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes the Correctional Association of New York to regularly inspect residential juvenile detention facilities operated by the Office of Children and Family Services. It grants the association the power to conduct unannounced visits, review facility records and policies, and confidentially communicate with both youth residents and staff to ensure their welfare. Additionally, the legislation establishes a confidential toll-free hotline for youth to report abuse or unsafe conditions and expands the legal authority of Prisoners' Legal Services to represent these youth, access their records, and investigate complaints. The Office of Children and Family Services is required to respond in writing to annual reports submitted by the Correctional Association detailing the state of these facilities and any recommended improvements.
Maddy summaryThis bill modifies the state workers' compensation law to allow claims for mental injuries caused by extraordinary work-related stress for all workers, not just specific first responders. Under the new rules, the compensation board cannot reject such a claim if it is factually determined that the stress experienced was greater than what typically occurs in a normal work environment. The change expands eligibility beyond police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel to include any employee facing severe workplace stress. The legislation takes effect on the first day of January following its enactment.
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.
Maddy summaryThis bill updates election laws to guide local boards of elections in selecting specific locations for early voting and voter registration. It allows religious buildings to serve as polling places without requiring them to open on Saturdays if this conflicts with their beliefs, while mandating that public school buildings never be used for early voting. Additionally, the legislation requires that public buildings be used for voting whenever possible and outlines procedures for ensuring accessibility for disabled voters, including a process for building owners to request cancellation of a polling place designation if it would unreasonably interfere with their normal operations.
Requires a caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the central registry to leave their name and contact information; prohibits the office of children and family services from releasing information identifying a person who made such a report.
