Sen. Brian Kavanagh

Relates to the statute of limitations for certain deed theft actions; revives such actions otherwise barred by the existing statute of limitations and states who may bring such actions; grants trial preference to such actions; directs the chief administrator of the courts to promulgate rules for the timely adjudication of certain revived actions.

Enacts the "safer weapons, safer homes act"; requires the division of criminal justice services to study the technological viability of personalized firearms; defines personalized firearms; requires the division to report to the governor and the legislature on the results of the study.

Prohibits the sale of playground surfacing materials that contain PFAS, PAHs or lead; prevents sellers of playground surfacing materials that contain PFAS, PAHs or lead from being held in violation when relying in good faith on a certificate of compliance provided by the manufacturer; provides penalties for violations.

Relates to the taxation of vapor products; provides for the licensing of vapor products distributors; imposes certain tax return filing requirements on vapor products distributors; provides for enforcement powers.

Requires property/casualty insurance companies to submit certain zip code-level data to the department of financial services on nonrenewal rates, nonpayment cancellation rates, other cancellation rates, claim frequency rates, average claim amounts, paid loss ratios, and average premiums; requires property/casualty insurance companies that use a natural disaster risk model or scoring method to assign risk, information about such model or scoring method; authorizes a premium discount to policyholders of homeowners insurance or property/casualty insurance applicable to residential real property who demonstrate certain mitigation actions; requires insurers to post about such discounts on their public websites; relates to the timing of cancellation and nonrenewal notices for certain insurance policies; relates to increasing membership of the board governing the New York property insurance underwriting association; requires a quadrennial report on the activities of such association; increases such board membership to 23 including 6 directors appointed by the legislature and 4 directors appointed by the governor.

Exempts certain property within Manhattan in the city of New York from the prohibition of alcohol sales within a certain distance of a school or place of worship.

Maddy summaryS 8701, the "Baby Food Safety and Transparency Act," requires manufacturers of baby food (excluding infant formula) sold in the state to test each batch monthly for toxic heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury using accredited labs. Manufacturers must publicly disclose test results online, including metal levels, product identifiers, and a link to FDA health information, with QR codes on labels directing consumers to this data. The law prohibits selling products exceeding state-set limits (based on federal standards) and allows consumers to report violations to the state department. It complements, but does not replace, existing federal regulations.

Establishes the homeowner protection program; provides that the department of law shall establish the homeowner protection program to ensure the availability of free housing counseling and legal services to homeowners for the purposes of mitigating threats to homeownership; provides that the department of law shall provide grants to eligible not-for-profit housing counseling organizations and legal services organizations to provide services under the program.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires state and local parks to test their drinking water for lead contamination at least once every three years. If lead levels are found to be unsafe, park managers must provide free safe water, shut down affected outlets, post warnings, and share results online. The law also mandates that officials publish a biennial report on these findings and exempts New York City parks if they already have a testing program.

Maddy summaryThis bill lowers the age for mandatory annual mammogram coverage under large group health insurance plans from 35 to 30 years old. It directly affects women aged 30-39 enrolled in large employer-sponsored health plans. The key change modifies insurance law to require annual mammograms for this age group in large plans (previously only for ages 35-39), though coverage remains subject to physician recommendation and medical necessity determination. This policy update applies to all large group health insurance policies issued or renewed after the effective date.