Sen. Brian Kavanagh

Establishes the "protect our privacy (POP) act" to impose limitations on the use of drones for law enforcement purposes; prohibits the use of drones by law enforcement at concerts, protests, demonstrations, or other actions protected by the first amendment.

Requires each town, village, and city to develop a "housing action plan for everyone", including consideration of local needs and specific strategies to address those local needs.

Enacts the "vicarious liability for housing discrimination act"; imposes vicarious liability on a person for unlawful discriminatory practices related to the sale, rental, or lease of certain property by such person's agent.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all public and private schools in the state to include instruction about the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection and its aftermath as part of mandated civic education courses for students over age eight. It amends education law to add this event to required curriculum topics alongside other historical subjects like slavery, the Holocaust, and genocide. Schools must teach the historical context, significance, and consequences of the insurrection, with oversight by the education commissioner. Non-compliance could result in withheld school funding, as the law mandates this instruction be integrated into existing citizenship and history lessons.

Authorizes courts to hold evidentiary hearings for a temporary order of protection in certain circumstances; grants superior court judges the authority to issue a temporary order of protection when an action is pending in a local criminal court in certain circumstances.

Relates to making certain housing programs available regardless of immigration status; provides that local social services districts in a city with a population of five million or more shall be permitted to offer certain housing programs to individuals or families who would be eligible but for a federal law restricting eligibility based on immigration.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 6383) authorizes state transportation agencies and authorities to use automated weigh-in-motion technology on their facilities to detect vehicles exceeding weight limits. It directly affects commercial vehicle owners who operate on these facilities, as the owner - not the driver - would receive liability notices for overweight violations. Key mechanisms include requiring daily system self-tests, annual calibration by independent labs, strict privacy protections (blurring driver/vehicle details in images), and limits on how recorded data can be used or shared. The technology must be installed only on agency-owned facilities, with data destroyed after case resolution or one year. This creates a standardized, automated enforcement process for weight compliance on state infrastructure.

Maddy summaryThis bill repeals Chapter 834 of the 1940 laws, which previously established procedures for removing certain police officers. It directly removes this outdated legal framework from the statute book, meaning the specific process it described no longer applies. The repeal takes immediate effect, eliminating the 1940 law without creating new policies or affecting current police personnel. As a procedural repeal, it does not change current police hiring, removal, or civil service rules.

Maddy summaryThis bill strengthens tenant protections in multi-unit buildings by allowing renters to withhold rent if housing violations (like unsafe conditions) aren't fixed within 3 months of the department's notice. Tenants must formally raise this defense in court and deposit the withheld rent with the clerk, rather than paying it directly to landlords. It applies only when the department has documented a violation and the owner failed to correct it, excluding cases where the tenant caused the issue or paid rent voluntarily. Landlords cannot evict tenants for nonpayment if the violation defense is validly raised. The law aims to ensure habitable housing by linking rent collection directly to building safety compliance.

Requires gas pipeline facilities to accelerate the repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of equipment or pipelines that are leaking or leak prone and increase safety reporting relating to gas pipeline leaks; requires the public service commission to establish timelines for the repair, rehabilitation or replacement of leaking or leak prone infrastructure; requires the commission to provide a gas safety report to the legislature.