Sen. Julia Salazar

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 3353) exempts sales and installation of geothermal heat pump systems from state sales tax for both residential and commercial properties. It directly affects homeowners and businesses installing ground-source heat pumps that use the ground or groundwater for heating, cooling, or hot water. The key provision removes tax on equipment sales and installation services, excluding recreational facilities or equipment used as storage media. This policy change applies to systems meeting specific technical definitions in the tax law, without altering local tax options for municipalities.

Creates the office of the correctional ombudsperson to achieve transparency, fairness, impartiality and accountability in New York state correctional facilities; relates to reports by coroners; designates investigators of the office of the correctional ombudsperson as peace officers; authorizes the attorney general to investigate the alleged commission of any criminal offense committed by an employee of the department of corrections and community supervision in connection with their official duties; relates to the confidentiality of certain records; includes the office of the correctional ombudsperson records within the definition of public safety agency records; makes related provisions.

Requires the department of education to report information regarding counselors, social workers and psychologists in schools and to implement a plan to increase the school counselor, school social worker and school psychologist to student ratio to nationally accepted standards and provide funding for such.

Relates to authorizing voting by incarcerated individuals in correctional facilities; requires the department of corrections and community supervision, in collaboration with the state and county boards of election, to establish a program to facilitate incarcerated individuals voter registration and voting.

Prohibits the disclosure of individualized fare payment data by the metropolitan commuter transportation authority and the New York city transit authority for the purpose of maintaining customer privacy; provides certain exceptions when such data can be disclosed.

Enacts the "Customer Savings and Reliability Act" in relation to regional affordable gas transition plans to guide an orderly, affordable, and equitable right-sizing of the utility gas system in a manner that aligns with climate justice and emissions reduction provisions.

Defines the term "construction projects" to mean the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of any school building where a district receives any apportionment for debt service or building aid and the school building is sited within the Long Island region; provides that each contract involving the award of a construction project shall require the use of a project labor agreement for all contractors and subcontractors on such project.

Establishes hospital-sponsored off campus emergency departments as a "hospital"; sets out specific standards for operations, staffing and capacity requirements.

Authorizes United States citizens currently residing outside the United States whose last residence in the United States was in the state of New York to vote in certain federal elections.

Provides that a person who commits a crime during a period of post-release supervision and when such charge culminates in a new sentence, the period of post-release supervision shall be deemed interrupted for any period in which such person was held in pre-trial detention.