Asm. Chris Burdick

Establishes the buy American, buy union grant program and the buy American, buy union grant fund for the purpose of providing grants to municipal subdivisions to reimburse such municipal subdivisions for the costs of procuring consumer or commercial vehicles which are union-made.

Establishes the New York State social housing development authority as a public benefit corporation to increase the supply of permanently affordable housing in the state through the acquisition of land and renovation or rehabilitation of existing real property, and through the construction of new, permanently affordable housing.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A 999) updates New York's definition of developmental disability in the mental hygiene law to explicitly include fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), covering conditions like fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), partial FAS, and alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND). It directly affects individuals with FASD who meet specific criteria: being over age 7, having a diagnosed FASD by a qualified provider, having the condition start before age 22, showing it will likely continue indefinitely, and experiencing significant impact on daily living activities. The key mechanism is adding these FASD conditions to the list of qualifying disabilities, aligning them with existing conditions like autism or cerebral palsy for eligibility purposes. This change ensures FASD is formally recognized under the state's developmental disability framework, affecting how individuals access related services and support.

Enacts the "Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection Act"; relates to the delegation of state enforcement authority to private actors; authorizes an affected employee, whistleblower, representative organization or an organizational deputy to initiate a public enforcement action on behalf of the commissioner for certain provisions of the labor law, or any regulation promulgated thereunder.

Provides that subsequent requests for an extension of a suspension period for certain rate, charge or other changes by utilities shall require approval by the public service commission and shall be valid for one month, after which the commission shall review and determine the necessity of a further extension; provides limitations on retroactive rate recovery by utilities.

Relates to establishing the banking bill of rights; includes due process requirements regarding applications for or closure of credit and deposit accounts and penalties for noncompliance.

Provides protections for telecommunications tower technicians, including requiring certain trainings during work hours without a loss of pay; requires certain reporting by bidders for telecommunication contracts.

Extends DEC's authority to regulate management of crabs to 12/31/2027; prohibits the taking of horseshoe crabs for commercial and biomedical purposes.

Requires the developmental disabilities advisory council to submit an annual report to the governor, temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on the activities of the council, and to make such report public.

Enacts the consumer litigation funding act to promote consumer protections related to consumer litigation funding transactions; provides for contract requirements, including that the contract contain a no penalty provision for the prepayment of the funded amount prior to the settlement of their case; makes related provisions.