Sen. Cordell Cleare

Relates to establishing the housing access voucher program; provides that the commissioner of the division of housing and community renewal shall implement a program of rental assistance in the form of housing vouchers for eligible individuals and families who are homeless or who face an imminent loss of housing; provides that the commissioner shall designate housing access voucher local administrators in the state to administer the program.

Prohibits any police officer, peace officer or employee of a correctional facility from interfering with the provision of medical assistance to an incarcerated individual.

Maddy summaryS 4799 creates a legal right for New Yorkers to sue fossil fuel companies that contributed to climate change through their activities. It applies to companies that emitted at least one billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from 1989 until the bill's effective date, excluding public utilities and government entities. The bill establishes new provisions in state law, including definitions and a "right of action," to enable lawsuits for climate-related damages like health impacts and property loss. This would allow individuals and communities to seek compensation for harms directly linked to fossil fuel emissions.

Provides grants to nonprofit organizations that provide eligible home reading programs that provide independent reading level books that are individually mailed to the residences of kindergarten through fifth grade students on a weekly basis.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 6449) clarifies how interest is calculated and recovered in civil court cases where a sum is awarded. It directly affects people involved in lawsuits over contract disputes, property issues, or bodily injury claims. The key change specifies that for bodily injury cases, interest must start from the date of injury, and courts or clerks must clearly state the interest calculation date in awards. The bill also standardizes procedures for determining interest dates when juries don’t specify them, and requires clerks to compute the interest amount. It takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Directs the division of housing and community renewal to conduct a study on alternatives to the affordable New York housing program by investigating new models and partnerships to provide affordable housing to residents of the state.

Ensures that residential gas, electric and steam service customers will receive a written determination regarding rate related complaints explaining the reasoning for the decision; requires that decisions are made by the public service commission within 90 days of receiving the complaint; requires utility corporations to retain customer billing statements dating back at least eight years.

Authorizes occupational therapy services to be provided in school to students in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve with occupational impairments of a severity that does not adversely affect the student's educational performance but does present a barrier to functioning at home or in the community; directs the commissioner to promulgate rules and regulations for the provision of such occupational therapy services.

Enacts The New Deal for CUNY; increases the ratio of faculty and mental health counselors to full-time students; requires that certain amounts of tuition be replaced by federal, state, and city funds.

Requires the board of elections to send an absentee ballot application to all voters who filed an absentee ballot application for the prior election; provides for a permanent absentee ballot application list.