Sen. Tony Palumbo

Provides that beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year, certain graduate students shall be required to pay 25% of all current and future mandatory university fees; provides that in the 2027-2028 academic year and thereafter, no mandatory university fees shall be charged to certain graduate students and adjunct staff, with the exclusion of the graduate student association student activity fee.

Provides that certain purchase contracts to purchase food can be awarded to a qualified bidder who fulfills certain values based procurement standards when such bid is not more than 10% higher than the lowest responsible bidder and when the bidder makes publicly available data on where such bidder sources their food items; sets forth the criteria for values based procurement standards to include local economies, environmental resilience, racial equity, valued workforce, valued agricultural sector, animal welfare, and nutrition.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a temporary task force within the Office of Mental Health to study how to help residents of community-based mental health housing programs age in place. The nine-member group will investigate barriers to care, propose policy changes to improve access to medical services, ensure housing compliance with disability laws, and develop training for staff. The task force must submit its findings and recommendations to the governor and legislature within twelve months, after which the bill and the group will automatically expire.

Establishes the crimes of benefiting from a labor trafficking venture, benefiting from a sex trafficking venture and aggravated benefiting from a sex trafficking venture; establishes civil action for victims of benefiting from a trafficking venture; revives such actions otherwise barred by the existing statute of limitations, grants trial preference to such actions; directs the chief administrator of the courts to promulgate rules for the timely adjudication of certain revived actions.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows New York City police pension members to count prior service as an assistant district attorney or examining attorney for the police corruption commission toward their pension, provided they pay required contributions plus 5% annual interest. It applies to those who worked in these legal roles before joining the police department. Members transferring from the city employees' retirement system lose all credited service in that system. The change directly affects NYC police officers with prior legal service in specific city roles.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows the Town of Brookhaven to lease specific parkland parcels (described in Section 3) to Tag Towers LLC for up to 30 years to install and operate a wireless communication tower. The town must dedicate funds equal to the fair market value of the leased land toward acquiring new parklands or improving existing recreational facilities. If the tower is no longer used, the land reverts to public park purposes, and the tower must be removed. The bill directly affects Brookhaven residents through land use changes and the company Tag Towers LLC through the lease agreement.

Maddy summaryThis bill grants Michael Posillico retroactive membership in New York's state and local employees' retirement system, effective May 6, 2002 - the date he began working as a park attendant/dockworker for the Town of Brookhaven. It designates him as a Tier IV member (a specific retirement classification) if he submits a written request to the state comptroller within one year of the bill's effective date. The state of New York will cover all past costs associated with this retroactive membership. The bill directly affects only Michael Posillico, correcting a past administrative error that prevented his enrollment during his Brookhaven employment.

Directs the commissioner of DMV to establish a sex trafficking awareness and prevention program to provide education and awareness literature and educational materials to trade schools, community colleges, agencies, public or private schools or persons offering instruction in the operation of commercial motor vehicles with a commercial motor vehicle license and requires applicants for commercial driver's licenses submit a certificate for completion of such program.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows Civil Air Patrol members to take unpaid leave from their jobs during state-declared emergencies to assist with emergency response efforts. Employers must grant the leave if the member provides documentation from their unit commander confirming their role in the emergency, unless the absence would cause undue hardship to business operations. The leave applies only when members are actively performing duties related to the declared emergency, such as disaster support or search-and-rescue. Members must later submit a notarized statement from their unit commander verifying the leave period.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes New York's "First Responder Peer Support Program Act," creating a statewide grant program to fund peer-to-peer mental health support for first responders. It directly affects firefighters, police officers, EMTs, 911 operators, emergency dispatchers, coroners, and other emergency personnel by providing grants to local entities for trauma-informed training and mental health services. Key provisions include mandatory evidence-based training on suicide prevention and resilience, strict confidentiality rules prohibiting disclosure of personal information, and annual reporting requirements that exclude identifiable data. The program aims to improve mental health access while ensuring privacy and reducing barriers for those in high-stress emergency response roles.