Asm. Ken Zebrowski

Maddy summaryThis bill regulates how businesses can charge extra fees when customers pay with credit cards. It requires sellers to clearly display two prices - one for credit card users and one for other payment methods - and post a visible notice explaining the fee amount and which cards are affected. The law also limits these surcharges to a maximum of four percent of the transaction or the actual processing cost, whichever is lower, while explicitly banning such fees on debit card purchases.

Provides that the amount of a STAR real property tax savings may not be less than the amount of the STAR real property tax savings from the previous year.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits individuals, organizations, or companies from reserving or facilitating tee times on public golf courses for others in exchange for money. It allows local government attorneys to enforce the rule and keep any fines collected, while explicitly excluding standard green fees, rental charges, and small tips from the ban. The law applies immediately to prevent the sale of public golf course access as a commercial service.

Maddy summaryThis bill exempts community colleges from paying the metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax. It achieves this by adding community colleges to the list of eligible educational institutions that are already exempt from the fee, which currently includes public schools and certain libraries. The change applies immediately upon enactment, relieving these colleges of the specific tax requirement without altering any other parts of the tax law.

Relates to the judicial process relating to a dog that causes the death of a companion animal, farm animal or domestic animal while trespassing on property.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows school boards in Rockland County to create smaller election districts, known as wards, to choose individual school trustees instead of electing them all at once. The process requires the board to propose ward boundaries, hold public hearings, and submit the plan to voters for approval through a mandatory referendum. If approved, the new system would divide the district into three to nine wards, with each ward electing one trustee who must live in that area. The law also includes specific rules for redrawing wards every ten years to ensure equal population sizes and prevent discrimination. School boards can later vote to end this system if they choose to return to the previous method of electing all trustees together.

Maddy summaryThis bill defines a "film zone" as a 25-mile radius around Columbus Circle in Manhattan and excludes this area from receiving a specific state tax credit for film production. The legislation creates a tax incentive that provides a 10% credit on wages paid to crew members working on films with budgets of at least $500,000, but only if the work is performed in counties outside of the designated film zone. The total amount of these credits is capped at $5 million per year, with funds distributed based on the order in which production companies apply. By restricting this financial benefit to locations outside the specified Manhattan area, the bill aims to encourage film productions to shoot in other parts of the state rather than in the city center.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the Education Law to update how the state calculates the "pupil wealth ratio," a key metric used to determine school funding aid. It provides specific instructions on how to compute this ratio by dividing a school district's actual valuation or adjusted gross income by the statewide average, while also accounting for districts with high non-public school enrollment. The changes clarify the data sources and rounding rules the state commissioner must use when establishing these averages for eligible school districts.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires tuition assistance corporations to document specific reasons when an applicant's or their parent's income changes, such as job loss, serious illness, or military deployment. The legislation also clarifies eligibility rules for the Excelsior Scholarship by setting income limits and defining how income adjustments are calculated for students in full-time programs. Additionally, it allows the scholarship program to review an applicant's financial status after the initial qualifying year if their income drops due to significant life events like death, divorce, or disability. These changes aim to ensure that financial aid decisions reflect current economic circumstances rather than relying solely on past income data.

Maddy summaryThis bill exempts specific political subdivisions from paying the metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax. It removes the requirement for counties, towns, cities, and villages to pay this tax, with the exception of large cities having a population of one million or more. Additionally, the law extends this exemption to interstate agencies, public corporations, and eligible educational institutions such as public and nonpublic schools and libraries. The changes apply immediately upon enactment.