Sen. Bill Weber

Maddy summaryS 16, "Jacobe's Law," requires school staff to contact parents or guardians when bullying or harassment is confirmed involving a student. School counselors, principals, or other designated staff must first discuss with the student whether contacting parents would raise health, safety, or privacy concerns before making reasonable efforts to notify them via phone, email, or mail. The law also protects individuals who report bullying or harassment in good faith from retaliation or legal liability. This affects students involved in such incidents, their parents/guardians, and school staff responsible for handling reports.

Maddy summaryBill S 48 proposes an amendment to the state constitution regarding the passage of budget bills. Currently, the Governor or acting Governor can certify the need for an immediate vote on a bill, which waives the standard three-day review period for it to be on legislators' desks. This bill would prohibit the Governor from calling such an immediate vote specifically for budget bills or appropriation bills. This change would ensure that all budget-related legislation must be available to legislators in its final form for at least three calendar legislative days before a final vote can occur.

Enacts the "dismantling student antisemitism act", or "DSA act"; requires mandatory sensitivity training that includes the topic of antisemitism; includes reporting requirements regarding antisemitism complaints and disciplinary processes.

Enacts "Tucker's law"; removes the provision that provides that any term of imprisonment for a violation of aggravated cruelty to animals may not exceed two years.

Maddy summaryS 3639, "Nick's Law," increases penalties for drivers who flee the scene of an accident resulting in death. It upgrades the offense to a class B felony (with fines of $2,000-$30,000) instead of a lower misdemeanor, directly affecting drivers who leave such accidents without reporting. The bill also adjusts court procedures for adolescent offenders charged with this specific hit-and-run, requiring additional factors to be considered before transferring cases to family court. These changes aim to strengthen accountability for leaving death-related accident scenes.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates the laws governing wrongful death lawsuits in the state to clarify which types of financial compensation families can receive when a loved one dies due to someone else's actions. It explicitly allows juries to award damages for specific losses, including funeral costs, medical bills incurred before death, emotional grief, and the loss of financial support, guidance, and companionship. The legislation also defines exactly who is eligible to receive these funds, such as spouses, domestic partners, children, and individuals who acted as parents to the deceased, while establishing a legal process to divide the money fairly among them based on their specific relationship to the decedent. Additionally, the bill adjusts the time limit for filing these lawsuits to three years generally, with a shorter deadline for cases related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Provides that transportation shall be provided to all children attending grades kindergarten through twelve who live within a fifteen mile radius of the school they legally attend; provides that such transportation may also be provided for such students to before-and/or-after-school child care locations.

Requires the refund of certain excess school taxes collected by school districts located within Rockland County resulting from erroneous tax levy increases for the 2024--2025 school tax levy.

Establishes the buy American, buy union grant program and the buy American, buy union grant fund for the purpose of providing grants to municipal subdivisions to reimburse such municipal subdivisions for the costs of procuring consumer or commercial vehicles which are union-made.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution honors the memory of Salvador Vizcarrondo Jr., a community leader from Endicott, New York, who passed away in October 2025. The bill formally acknowledges his lifelong dedication to education and youth development, particularly his long service with the Upward Bound program at Binghamton University. By adopting this resolution, the legislative body pauses its proceedings to express condolences and transmits a copy of the tribute to Vizcarrondo's family.