Sen. James Sanders

Maddy summaryS 6302 requires New York City to use ranked choice voting (also called instant run-off) for citywide municipal elections, including races for mayor, public advocate, and comptroller. This replaces the current system where a runoff election might be held if no candidate receives 40% of votes in a primary. Under the new system, voters rank candidates in order of preference, and votes are redistributed if no candidate achieves a majority in the first count. The law takes effect for all municipal elections held on or after January 1, 2026.

Relates to motions to vacate judgment; authorizes filing motions to vacate judgment due to a change in law; authorizes motions to vacate judgment to be filed at any time after entry of a judgment obtained at trial or by plea; relates to the requirements of discovery.

Requires that public schools provide instruction on climate change, including but not limited to identifying the causes and impacts of climate change on individuals, environments and communities, and learning to evaluate solutions.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a mandatory licensing system for all police and peace officers in the state, requiring licenses by January 1, 2027, with licenses valid for five years and renewal tied to continuing education. License renewal includes specific training on de-escalation techniques for mental health crises, protests, and cultural competency regarding race, ethnicity, and gender identity. It creates an independent review board to handle disciplinary actions for professional misconduct (such as excessive force), with powers to revoke licenses, impose fines, or mandate additional training. The law also revises state criminal procedure codes to require that only officers licensed under this act may serve as police or peace officers.

Directs the department of homeland security and emergency services to conduct a study on domestic terrorism within the state and to make recommendations to address such terrorism.

Relates to the "Heather D. Heyer act" which increases penalties where a vehicle is used as a weapon in a hate crime and makes it illegal to travel upon a roadway in a vehicle within 1000 feet of a protest.

Relates to providing for rest between work shifts; prohibits the scheduling of an employee to work the first ten hours following the end of the previous calendar day's work shift or on-call shift or the first ten hours following the end of a work shift or on-call shift that spanned two calendar days unless an employee consents or volunteers, in which case the employee shall be paid one and one-half times the regular rate of pay.

Maddy summaryThis bill makes statements by people under 18 obtained through deception during police custody questioning inadmissible in court. It creates a legal presumption that such statements are involuntary if law enforcement knowingly used false claims about evidence or fake promises of leniency to get a confession. The prosecution must prove the statement was voluntary by a preponderance of evidence, shifting the burden of proof to them. This applies to both criminal trials and family court cases involving minors under 18.

Imposes an excise tax on the sale of ammunition to be deposited into the gun violence impact fund; establishes the gun violence impact fund; authorizes the director of the office of victim services to administer grants from the gun violence impact fund.

Establishes the New York Health program, a comprehensive system of access to health insurance for New York state residents; provides for administrative structure of the plan; provides for powers and duties of the board of trustees, the scope of benefits, payment methodologies and care coordination; establishes the New York Health Trust Fund which would hold monies from a variety of sources to be used solely to finance the plan; enacts provisions relating to financing of New York Health, including a payroll assessment, similar to the Medicare tax; establishes a temporary commission on implementation of the plan; provides for collective negotiations by health care providers with New York Health.