Sen. Zellnor Myrie

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution honors Investigator Michael Theetge of the Chemung County Sheriff's Office for receiving the Order of the Blue Heart Award from Wounded Blue, a national organization supporting law enforcement officers injured on duty. The resolution formally commends his 14-year service, leadership as SWAT commander, and recovery from a severe March 2024 on-duty injury, directing that a copy be sent to him as a token of legislative respect.

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 amends New York's public assistance law to clarify that when a parent or non-parent caregiver chooses to exclude a child from the public assistance household, the child's unearned income (such as savings or gifts) is not counted toward household income for eligibility purposes. It directly affects families applying for public assistance who include or exclude children living with them. The key change adds a specific provision to the law explicitly stating that excluded children's unearned income should be disregarded, removing ambiguity in current rules. This ensures that excluding a child from the household does not automatically include their unearned income in the household's financial calculation.

Maddy summaryBill S 1062 directs the Council on the Arts to develop specific criteria and guidelines for establishing state-designated arts and cultural districts. These districts are defined as geographic areas within cities, towns, or villages with a concentration of arts or cultural facilities. Local governments, or multiple governments jointly, can apply for this designation based on criteria that may include attracting artists, encouraging job development, fostering tourism, and enhancing local cultural development. Once designated, these districts would receive state-supported assistance from the Department of Economic Development, such as technical support for grants and marketing expertise.

Maddy summarySenate Bill S 7641 designates where revenue from the existing opioid excise tax in New York State will be allocated. It specifies that all taxes, interest, and penalties collected from this tax, after accounting for any refunds, will be deposited into the New York State Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund. This mechanism ensures that funds generated by the opioid excise tax are directly used to support drug treatment and public education initiatives throughout the state.

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.

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.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires a 120-day warning period before municipal or health agencies can impose monetary fines for violations at facilities owned or operated by congressionally chartered veterans' groups (like American Legion posts or VFW halls). During this period, the veterans' group can fix the violation without penalty. The bill allows a written extension request with proof of corrective efforts, but does not apply to immediate life-threatening safety issues or alcohol law violations. It directly affects veterans' organization facilities covered under federal chartering under Title 36 of the U.S. Code.

Establishes the empire state sports and entertainment fund to create competitive financial incentives to attract sports and entertainment events in the state with an emphasis on economic development in upstate New York.