Sen. Julia Salazar

Maddy summaryThis is a commemorative Senate Resolution (J 1558) honoring Margaret D. Williams, a Coney Island community leader and member of the doo-wop group The Cookies, who passed away in January 2026. The resolution recognizes her musical legacy - including chart-topping hits like "Chains" and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction - and her decades of community service, including 33 years with NYC Health and her work with the Coney Island History Project. It serves as a symbolic tribute from the legislature, expressing condolences to her family and celebrating her life’s impact. As a procedural resolution, it does not create new laws or affect any policies.

Maddy summaryThis bill removes a requirement that parents or caretakers must earn a minimum wage or work a minimum number of hours to qualify for state child care assistance. It directly affects low-income families seeking child care support, eliminating a barrier that previously disqualified them based on earnings or work hours. The law amendment explicitly prohibits any minimum earnings requirement for those otherwise eligible under existing child care assistance rules. This change would allow more families to access child care support without needing to meet specific work or income thresholds.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a state-administered apprenticeship program for New York public housing residents to train as painters. It requires no criminal history barriers for applicants and mandates comprehensive training in workplace safety (including lead/asbestos handling), painting techniques (surface prep, paint mixing, and finishing), and job skills like cost estimation. The program, managed by the state department with housing authorities, will provide structured on-the-job learning for residents of municipal housing authorities. It directly affects public housing residents seeking career opportunities in painting trades through accessible, no-barrier training.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits New York City from holding minors under 18 in facilities designed for adults. It specifically bans placing youth under 18 in secure juvenile detention centers used for individuals aged 18 or older. The law creates a new category of "older youth detention facility" for 18- to 21-year-olds, ensuring this age group is held separately from younger minors. It directly affects NYC's juvenile justice system by requiring separation of minors under 18 from adult detention settings. The policy change takes effect January 1, 2027.

Expands health care services provided by telehealth to include services delivered through a facility licensed under article twenty-eight of the public health law that is eligible to be designated or has received a designation as a federally qualified health center, including those facilities that are also licensed under article thirty-one or article thirty-two of the mental hygiene law.

Requires training for teachers and administrators in the area of mental health response; requires office of mental health to assist in development of curriculum for training.

Establishes a right of action for the deprivation of constitutional rights; provides for compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, and reasonable attorney's fees.

Prohibits and regulates the discovery and disclosure of immigration status; prohibits police officers, peace officers, school resource officers, probation agencies, state entities, state employees, and municipal corporations from questioning individuals regarding their citizenship or immigration status; regulates the disclosure of information relating to immigration status; prohibits an educational agency, higher education agency, school employee, school safety personnel, or third-party contractor from collecting information about a person's citizenship, immigration status, nationality, or country of origin, unless required by law or necessary to administer a public program or benefit sought by such person.

Enacts the "licensure incentives and fee-support for testing (LIFT) act"; establishes the social work licensure examination voucher program to provide low-income individuals vouchers to cover the cost of the examination required for licensure as a licensed master social worker or licensed clinical social worker.

Relates to the reporting requirements of the statewide fiscal intermediary; requires the reporting of utilization data and financial data to protect medical assistance recipients in using the program and ensure the effective use of medical assistance funds; requires the statewide fiscal intermediary to provide consumer directed personal assistant data to ensure the availability of a workforce to meet the needs of consumers utilizing the program; requires the statewide fiscal intermediary to provide data regarding customer service requests, complaints, and accessibility.