Asm. George Alvarez

Maddy summaryThis bill (A 7456) requires lobbyists to register and disclose details about efforts to influence the nomination or confirmation of individuals for state offices that require Senate approval. It expands existing lobbying disclosure rules to specifically include "offices and nominees or potential nominees" as a required disclosure point for lobbyists. The key mechanism adds this requirement to multiple sections of the legislative law, mandating that lobbyists report the specific offices and nominees they are lobbying for. This affects lobbyists working on appointments to state positions subject to Senate confirmation, such as judges or agency heads.

Mandates that any article of merchandise advertised, and not available throughout advertised period, must be supplied at advertised price by seller within sixty days from the date the purchaser of such article is notified of its availability; specifies terms of raincheck and limited exceptions.

Directs the comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance to undertake a study on the feasibility of establishing a venture capital tax credit for investments to emerging diverse founding member businesses.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a legal right to counsel for eligible immigrants in New York during immigration proceedings. It applies to income-eligible non-citizens or those with significant New York ties (like residents or cases tied to NY courts) facing removal or detention under federal immigration law. The New York State Office for New Americans will administer the program, providing initial consultations and ongoing legal representation starting when a case begins (e.g., upon receiving a "Notice to Appear") and continuing until the case concludes. Legal services must be offered regardless of the proceeding's location, including federal immigration courts outside New York.

Relates to establishing the housing access voucher program; provides that the commissioner of the division of housing and community renewal shall implement a program of rental assistance in the form of housing vouchers for eligible individuals and families who are homeless or who face an imminent loss of housing; provides that the commissioner shall designate housing access voucher local administrators in the state to administer the program.

Relates to discovery restrictions for photographs of minors depicting sexual or other intimate parts; provides such photographs shall be subject to in camera review and certain other restrictions.

Creates city university of New York center for excellence in urban education to enhance the quality of teaching in public schools in NYC; establishes the regents public school teacher loan forgiveness program to allocate awards annually to teachers who agree to teach public school in an area of New York state designated by the board of regents as having a shortage of public school teachers.

Enacts the building up immigrant legal defense or BUILD act to provide competitive workforce development and capacity building grants to eligible entities that are seeking to expand access to representation for individuals facing deportation by increasing the workforce and strengthening the legal services infrastructure needed to provide such representation.

Requires that public schools provide instruction on climate change, including but not limited to identifying the causes and impacts of climate change on individuals, environments and communities, and learning to evaluate solutions.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows retired members of New York state retirement systems to change their designated beneficiary if that beneficiary has been convicted of a family offense (as defined in state law) and the retired member was the complainant in the case. Retired members have 180 days from the beneficiary's conviction date to submit a written request to the retirement system to make this change. Once received, the retirement system will update the beneficiary or recalculate benefits accordingly. The comptroller must notify retired members about this provision and can create rules to implement it, working with domestic violence and criminal justice agencies.