Asm. Rebecca Seawright

Requires all insurance policies and health maintenance organization contracts to provide coverage for maternity patients and their newborns for hospital stays of at least 48 hours following childbirth by natural delivery and 96 hours following childbirth by caesarean section; provides such coverage for patients who are recipients of medicaid.

Provides for a working families tax credit; directs quarterly prepayment of the credit; provides for a sliding reduction in the credit for incomes which exceed a certain threshold.

Imposes a commercial vacancy tax on vacant or abandoned commercial storefronts located in a city with a population of one million or more of one percent of the assessed value of the property.

Maddy summaryBill A 1254, the "E-BIKES Act," requires businesses using electric assist bicycles to mandate that employees and independent contractors who ride them complete an annual online safety video. The video, created by the state department, covers safe operation in traffic, pedestrian interactions, battery safety, and bike storage. Businesses must ensure all affected workers watch the video within the previous year, with non-compliance risking $1,000 civil penalties per violation. The law takes effect 18 months after enactment, with the video to be updated annually to reflect current safety practices.

Establishes a recycling program for containers of adult-use cannabis sold in New York; requires such containers to be made of at least fifty percent recycled materials.

Establishes the New York Health program, a comprehensive system of access to health insurance for New York state residents; provides for administrative structure of the plan; provides for powers and duties of the board of trustees, the scope of benefits, payment methodologies and care coordination; establishes the New York Health Trust Fund which would hold monies from a variety of sources to be used solely to finance the plan; enacts provisions relating to financing of New York Health, including a payroll assessment, similar to the Medicare tax; establishes a temporary commission on implementation of the plan; provides for collective negotiations by health care providers with New York Health.

Requires the board of elections to provide Russian interpreters at certain polling locations in cities having a population in excess of one million people.

Maddy summaryThis bill significantly expands eligibility for judicial diversion programs, allowing individuals charged with a broader range of offenses to participate if they have a "qualifying diagnosis." This diagnosis includes serious mental disorders, other mental health disorders causing severe functional impairment, or substance use disorders. While most Class A felonies and Class B sexual offenses are generally excluded, the bill establishes a new "diversion part" in each county. It also redefines "treatment" within these programs to include evidence-based interventions outside of carceral settings.

Enacts the "health insurance preauthorization disclosure act"; requires health insurance companies to provide participating health care providers with a list of health care treatments and services that require preauthorization from the health insurance company.

Establishes a program for specific individuals to become complex care assistants and provide private duty nursing services to certain Medicaid enrollees.