Sen. Pete Harckham

Maddy summaryThis bill expands New York's Secure Choice retirement savings program by lowering the employer eligibility threshold from 10 to 5 employees. It directly affects small businesses in New York that previously didn't qualify but now meet the new requirement (having 5+ employees, operating for at least two years, and not offering a retirement plan in the past two years). The key change amends the law to define "employer" more broadly for the program, making it accessible to more small businesses. This policy change aims to increase access to automatic retirement savings options for more workers without requiring employers to administer their own plans.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends New York's labor law to clarify which private construction projects must follow prevailing wage rules when using public funds. It defines "covered projects" as those where public funds make up at least 20% of total costs (over $5 million) or $3 million+ in public funds. The law excludes single-family homes, small nonprofits, and certain affordable housing projects (like those with 25%+ affordable units under 15-year agreements) from these requirements. It also specifies that tax benefits, loan savings, and some public subsidies do not count as "public funds" for this purpose.

Relates to the availability of opioid reversal agents; requires the department of health to make available any formulation and dosage of opioid reversal agents approved by the federal food and drug administration.

Establishes a civil cause of action for employees who are subjected to an abusive work environment; provides employers shall be vicariously liable for such work environment.

Establishes the healthy and safe students act; requires comprehensive sexuality instruction for students in grades K-12 which includes a model curricula for comprehensive sexuality education and at a minimum conforms to the content and scope of national sexuality education standards.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 1983) changes how "tuition" is defined for schools serving children with handicapping conditions. It expands the current definition to explicitly include "actual public expenses" paid annually by schools, beyond just standard instructional costs. The change clarifies that tuition calculations must exclude certain revenues like federal funds, state refunds for special programs, or gifts/donations. This affects school districts and state education officials who determine tuition costs for these students.

Maddy summaryThis bill repeals two specific provisions in New York's education law that previously required a reduction in state funding for charter schools. It removes paragraph (e) of section 2853 and subdivision 6-g of section 3602, which mandated the funding rollback. As a result, charter schools will no longer be subject to this specific reduction in state aid. The change takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Enacts the Health Care Nondiscrimination Act; requires insurance coverage and health plans to implement equality and non-discrimination between licensed health care providers; requires fee parity between different classes of licensed providers providing the similar or like-kind services; requires practitioners to discuss and refer or prescribe non-pharmacological treatment alternatives before prescribing an opioid treatment; allows any licensed health care provider to perform certain services, including certifying disability and employment by school districts; provides for enforcement and penalties.

Maddy summaryS 6993 exempts infant car seats from New York's sales and compensating use tax. The bill defines "infant car seat" as an initial child restraint system meeting specific safety standards under vehicle law. This change directly affects parents and caregivers who purchase these safety devices, removing a tax burden on the product. The bill was referred to the Budget and Revenue Committee on March 27, 2025.

Establishes the water resiliency projects fund for flood mitigation, stormwater mitigation and other water related resiliency projects; makes an appropriation therefor.