Asm. Karines Reyes

Prohibits public utilities from using funds or being reimbursed by funds raised from ratepayers for contributions or gifts to political candidates, trade associations, public charities, and lobbyists, and for certain travel, entertainment and educational expenditures.

Establishes the "tenant opportunity to purchase act"; prevents the displacement of lower-income tenants in New York and preserves affordable housing by providing an opportunity for tenants to own or remain renters in the properties in which they reside.

Relates to parole eligibility for certain incarcerated persons age fifty-five or older if they have served at least fifteen years of their sentence or sentences.

Establishes a civil cause of action for employees who are subjected to an abusive work environment; provides employers shall be vicariously liable for such work environment.

Maddy summaryThis bill imposes a new 0.5% tax on corporations when they repurchase their own issued shares (stock buybacks). It directly affects corporations that buy back shares, taxing the full value paid for those shares. The key provision replaces previous per-share tax rates with this flat 0.5% rate on the transaction value, effective immediately upon enactment. The tax applies to all buybacks made after June 1905 (as stated in the bill text), with no exemption for shares canceled within one year.

Maddy summaryThis bill repeals Section 2307 of New York's Public Health Law, which previously addressed individuals knowingly infected with venereal disease. The repeal removes legal provisions that could have led to prosecution of people with certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs) who were aware of their status. The law takes immediate effect, preventing any future prosecutions or legal actions under the repealed section. This change directly affects individuals previously covered by this specific public health law provision, though it does not alter other STI-related laws or public health practices.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires state police, police officers, and peace officers to visibly display their badges while on duty, prohibiting intentional covering that obscures identification. It imposes a $500 fine per violation for state police (enforced by the State Police division) and for other officers (enforced by the Division of Criminal Justice Services). Citizens can report violations via a public hotline, which officers must post on their agency's website. The law takes effect immediately upon passage.

Requires the New York State Office of Mental Health to study the effects that awareness of or exposure to police shootings or killings of unarmed African Americans has on the mental health of African Americans in New York state and to deliver a finding of the results of such study to the governor and the legislative leaders.

Relates to the definition of employer for purposes of wage payment provisions; includes municipal corporations, public benefit corporations and public authorities in the definition of "employer".

Allows certain claimants to be reclassified to permanent total disability or total industrial disability due to extreme hardship; defines extreme hardship.