Sen. Andrew Lanza

Provides for a personal income tax deduction for school supplies paid for out-of-pocket by K-12 teachers in public and nonpublic schools, up to $500 per year.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 5414) adds a new offense to New York's Agriculture and Markets Law: causing the death of an animal through specific acts of cruelty defined in existing sections (353 or 353-a) becomes a class D felony. It directly affects individuals who commit intentional cruelty (like torture, maiming, or unjustified injury) that results in an animal's death. The key mechanism is amending the law to treat the death itself as a separate felony when it occurs during the commission of other animal cruelty crimes. This raises penalties from misdemeanors to a felony for those whose actions lead to animal fatalities.

Directs the board of standards and appeals in the city of New York to mail a copy of each application for a variance to property owners within 1 mile of the affected property.

Requires high schools in grades nine through twelve to provide a course in financial literacy; requires students to complete such course as a condition of graduation.

Enacts the "pupil privacy act" which requires schools to notify the parents or legal guardians of every student when a student protected information survey will be administered and provide such parent or legal guardian the opportunity to opt their child out of taking such survey.

Requires the justice center to establish procedures for when to report incidents which include suspicious and unexplained injuries including broken bones, hematomas, open wounds beyond minor first aid, black eyes, swollen noses, extreme and questionable bruising, choke marks, burns, individuals found unresponsive and all deaths to a 9-1-1 operator.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New York State schools to include "Staten Island's Sandy Ground community" - identified as the oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement in the U.S. - in civic education and history curricula. It mandates that all public and private schools teach about Sandy Ground alongside other historical topics like slavery, the Holocaust, and the Irish Famine. The law directs school boards to ensure instruction on this community for students over age eight, integrating it into required courses on citizenship, diversity, and human rights. The policy change directly affects all New York schools and students, embedding this specific historical site into state-mandated curriculum standards.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases reimbursement for attorneys providing legal services to indigent clients from $3,400 to $5,500 per qualifying year. It directly affects eligible attorneys who work in legal services for low-income clients under New York's education law program. The key provision raises the annual reimbursement cap while maintaining that funding depends on available appropriations and requires applicants to meet specific service criteria. The change would take effect on April 1, 2026, and applies to attorneys completing qualifying service years after that date. The bill does not alter eligibility requirements or create new funding sources, only adjusting the reimbursement amount.

Provides for the rate of employer contributions to the unemployment insurance fund in the 2026 fiscal year; establishes the unemployment insurance solvency reserve fund.

Prohibits the expenditure of state, local and public authority moneys relating to any civilian criminal trial of enemy combatants for acts of terrorism in any federal court in the state of New York.