Asm. Amy Paulin

Maddy summaryThis bill (A 565) prohibits the establishment of new for-profit hospices and bans capacity increases for existing for-profit hospices. It applies to all approvals after the law takes effect, directly affecting for-profit hospice providers and their expansion plans. The law requires new hospice facilities to operate as non-profits and prevents existing for-profit hospices from growing their services. This represents a concrete change in healthcare regulation, restricting for-profit models in hospice care.

Relates to including outpatient care provided by creative arts therapists in certain insurance policies covering care for other mental health services.

Authorizes the department of transportation to establish and implement a state memorial sign program to memorialize persons who died due to injuries sustained in a fatal motor vehicle crash on state highways.

Amends provisions relating to removing the exemption for school psychologists to render early intervention services, in relation to the effectiveness thereof.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires private employers who must provide first aid kits under federal law to include an opioid antagonist (like naloxone) in those kits. It directly affects businesses in sectors covered by federal workplace safety rules, such as construction or manufacturing, but excludes government agencies. The key provision mandates adding this life-saving medication to existing first aid supplies for treating potential opioid overdoses among injured employees. The bill does not create new first aid requirements but specifies that opioid antagonists must be part of kits already mandated by federal regulations.

Requires hospitals to establish a violence prevention program which includes a workplace safety and security assessment and develop a safety and security plan that addresses identified workplace violence threats or hazards.

Provides training to staff members accepting registrations, issuing licenses or conducting inspections of child day care homes, programs or facilities on the detection of controlled substances.

Requires general hospitals to provide language assistance services; requires general hospitals to develop a language assistance program to ensure meaningful access to the general hospital's services and reasonable accommodation for all patients who require language assistance.

Establishes a reproductive health services training and education grant program to train licensed providers and interns or residents who are employed by a hospital or otherwise enrolled in an accredited graduate medical education program in the performance of abortion and related reproductive health services; establishes the reproductive health training and education fund.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all public elementary schools in the state to begin classes no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and public secondary schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. It directly affects public K-12 schools by setting mandatory start times for all academic years starting after the law takes effect. The key mechanism ties school funding to compliance: schools must report verified start times in annual reports to receive state apportionments, with noncompliant schools losing funding eligibility. The law takes effect immediately for all academic years beginning on or after its effective date.