Sen. Julia Salazar

Maddy summaryThis bill asks the Governor of New York to officially recognize April 2026 as Sikh Heritage Month. The resolution highlights the contributions of the Sikh community to the state and aims to increase awareness of Sikh history and traditions. It does not change laws or create new programs but serves as a formal proclamation to honor the community.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires prosecutors to inform crime victims - including those who experienced sexual offenses - about New York's address confidentiality program. The program helps protect victims' home addresses from public disclosure by providing alternative mailing addresses. Prosecutors must now specifically notify victims about this program during case proceedings, as mandated by the new requirements added to state law. This change directly affects victims navigating the justice system by ensuring they learn about available privacy protections. The bill amends existing laws to make this notification a standard step in victim communication.

Maddy summaryBill S 871 establishes uniform waiting list priorities for domestic violence survivors applying for public housing. It requires local housing authorities to give these survivors the same priority as other vulnerable groups, such as the disabled, elderly, and homeless. To qualify, a survivor must either continue to face domestic violence in their current home or have left due to violence and not be living in standard permanent housing. For applicants with the same priority status, housing authorities will select based on the date and time their application was received.

Directs the office of children and family services to establish Dolly Parton's statewide imagination library program for encouraging children from birth to five years of age, inclusive, to develop a love of reading and learning; directs the office of children and family services to promote the statewide development of local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library programs; advance and strengthen local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library programs with the goal of increasing enrollment; recruit volunteers to assist in the development, promotion, and coordination of local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library programs; solicit donations, gifts, and other funding to financially support local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library programs; develop community engagement; develop, promote, and coordinate a public awareness campaign to make donors aware of the opportunity to donate to the affiliate programs and make the public aware of the opportunity to register eligible children to receive books through the program; administer the local match requirement and coordinate the collection and remittance of local program costs for books and mailing; and develop statewide marketing and communication plans; establishes the imagination library of New York fund.

Increases the amount for awards made to crime victims; specifies certain items of personal property which are necessary and essential to the welfare of a claimant.

Maddy summaryS 399 makes it illegal for most people to possess or sell "pistol converters" (devices that turn semi-automatic pistols into machine guns) or "convertible pistols" (specific semi-automatic pistols that can be easily converted using common tools like screwdrivers). The bill defines convertible pistols as those with a "cruciform trigger bar" that can be altered with household tools, excluding most standard semi-automatic pistols. It criminalizes selling or transporting convertible pistols (a class D felony), with exemptions for police, military personnel, and licensed gunsmiths. The law aims to prevent easy conversion of standard firearms into automatic weapons under state law.

Establishes a master of social work paid field practicum pilot program to provide a stipend to students who are enrolled in a master of social work program for the first 450 hours of field practicum completed towards such masters' degree; requires the office of mental health to complete a report making recommendations on how to expand the pilot program to increase the number of social workers in the state, improve representation in the field of social work, mitigate student debt and improve labor conditions for social workers upon graduation.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires landlords to maintain habitable housing conditions before they can pursue rent payments or eviction cases. Specifically, landlords cannot file such actions if there are unresolved housing code violations, lack of essential utilities (heat, water, electricity, sewage), rodent infestations, or other dangerous conditions that have existed for five or more days in the building. Landlords may submit an affidavit claiming violations were recorded erroneously, but courts can dismiss cases if the affidavit is untrue or unsafe conditions persist at filing. The law also mandates that landlords include specific notices about tenant protections in eviction notices. This directly affects landlords seeking to collect rent or evict tenants and strengthens tenant safeguards against unsafe housing conditions.

Provides that a claimant eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits shall also be entitled to receive a dependent allowance which shall begin at forty-five dollars and shall increase annually by an amount determined by the department of labor; directs the department of labor to report to the legislature following each calendar quarter certain information about dependent allowances and to make such reports available on its website; provides that a claimant's maximum benefit amount, including such dependent allowance, shall not exceed one hundred percent of such claimant's average weekly wage from their highest-earning calendar quarter.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the state education commissioner to create curriculum materials for school districts covering the historical treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming individuals. School districts may adapt the content to meet their specific needs and the age-appropriate abilities of students at different grade levels. The instruction can be included as part of social studies classes or other appropriate educational settings determined by the schools. The law is set to take effect on July 1, 2027, allowing time for the implementation of necessary rules and regulations.