Sen. Andrew Gounardes

Relates to allowing certain members of the New York city fire department pension fund to receive a membership date in such fund attributable to service in the titles of police cadet program and police cadet program II in the New York city police department cadet program.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands health insurance benefits for surviving spouses and domestic partners of New York City fire protection inspectors and their supervisors. It allows these family members to enroll in the same health coverage available to retired firefighters, provided they pay 102% of the group rate within one year of the member's death. The legislation specifically defines eligible deceased employees as those who worked as fire protection inspectors, associate inspectors, emergency medical technicians, or advanced emergency medical technicians, or who directly supervised these roles. Signed into law in December 2024, the measure ensures that families of these specific fire department personnel retain access to medical insurance after the employee passes away.

Expands disability benefits for firefighters who suffered any condition or impairment of health caused by endocrine/thyroid cancer resulting in total or partial disability.

Establishes a maximum temperature in school buildings and indoor facilities; provides a definition of extreme heat condition days and the standard to measure room temperature.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires health insurance plans in the state to cover epinephrine auto-injectors, which are devices used to treat life-threatening allergic reactions. It mandates that insurers provide coverage for at least two medically necessary devices per person, ensuring that the total out-of-pocket cost for these items does not exceed $100 annually. The law applies to various types of insurance policies, including major medical plans and group policies, while also accounting for specific federal rules regarding health savings accounts. The changes are set to take effect on January 1, 2026, for all policies issued or renewed on or after that date.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands the state's school violence prevention grant program to specifically fund anti-violence education initiatives. It allows schools to receive money for programs that provide trauma support, counseling, and education for students affected by gun violence, as long as these programs are run by nonprofit organizations and exclude any firearm training. To qualify, the funded programs must set clear goals, outline a timeline, and use specific methods to measure progress in reducing violence. The legislation also broadens the list of eligible safety activities to include safe corridors, diversity programs, and collaborative efforts with law enforcement or community groups.

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes local election boards to set up secure drop boxes where voters can return their completed absentee ballots in person. The law requires these boards to post the locations of the drop boxes on their websites and gives the state board the power to create rules ensuring the boxes are secure and properly managed. Additionally, the bill clarifies that ballots deposited in these boxes before the close of polls on election day are considered timely, even if they lack a postal service postmark. This change aims to provide another convenient method for voters to submit their ballots while maintaining specific security and timing standards.

Directs the commissioner to publicly publish an annual report on the environmental radiation surveillance program and analyze such report showing trends and cumulative impact, as well as notify other relevant agencies if contamination has exceeded EPA standards for maximum amounts of contamination allowed in drinking water or food.

Ensures that color vision requirements for appointment of police officers are tailored to only eliminate individuals with extreme color vision deficiencies from eligibility; provides methods under which an individual can meet such requirements after failing to meet an initial color vision standard.

Establishes the New York children's online safety act; requires operators of covered platforms to conduct age verification to determine whether a user is a covered minor; requires operators of covered platforms to utilize certain default privacy settings for covered minors; requires operators of covered platforms to require parental approval of certain activity related to a covered minor's covered platform account.