Asm. Kenny Burgos

Prohibits correctional facilities from denying entry to peer support advocates who are certified or licensed and are participating in the provision of corrections-based substance use disorder treatment and transition services based on such advocates' prior history of incarceration.

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 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.

Requires vehicle rental agreements instruct renters to remove personal information before returning the vehicle; permits rental vehicles to have decals informing the renter to remove such information when returning the vehicle.

Prohibits the participation of certain animals in traveling animal acts; prohibits the department of environmental conservation from issuing permits or licenses allowing participation of certain animals in traveling animal acts; excludes certain permanent performing institutions; imposes a civil penalty not to exceed $1000 for a violation.

Requires the New York state thruway authority to submit biannual reports to the legislature of all fiscal transactions, receipts and expenditures, with each report covering activity from the prior six months.