Sen. James Skoufis

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes the village of Chester to impose a 5% tax on hotel and motel room rentals (including bed-and-breakfasts and tourist facilities), excluding permanent residents staying 90+ consecutive days. It specifies that the tax must be collected by the village’s chief fiscal officer, with revenues deposited into the village’s general fund for any lawful use. The tax authorization expires automatically two years after enactment, triggering automatic repeal. The bill does not affect state, federal, or nonprofit organizations under specific exemptions outlined in the text.

Maddy summarySenate Resolution J 1252 is a ceremonial resolution memorializing Governor Hochul to formally recognize June 2025 as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in New York State. It does not create new laws or policies; instead, it requests the Governor issue a symbolic proclamation to honor the community's history and ongoing advocacy. The resolution cites key LGBTQIA+ milestones, including the Stonewall uprising and New York's marriage equality law, to frame the recognition. This is a procedural resolution with no direct effect on residents or policy implementation.

Includes the Space Force as being members of the armed forces or veterans eligible for certain credits and benefits that are available to other active and veteran members of the armed forces.

Requires nursing homes to designate dedicated storage spaces for the storage of the bodies of deceased persons; requires nursing homes to develop and submit plans to the department of health for the designation of such dedicated storage spaces; establishes requirements for such storage spaces.

Removes certain requirements on what the office of children and family services can determine to be an appropriate staff/child ratios for family day care homes, group family day care homes, school age day care programs and day care centers.

Expands the definition of veteran to include members of the commissioned corps of the NOAA and the commissioned corps of the public health service; expands access to certain benefits to those who served in the commissioned corps of the NOAA and the commissioned corps of the public health service.

Extends paid family leave benefits to employees who perform construction, demolition, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs, renovations, alterations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement who shall be eligible for family leave benefits if they were employed for at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine weeks by any covered employer which is signatory to a collective bargaining agreement.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 67) clarifies how state agencies must handle Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests for documents containing both public and exempt information. It requires agencies to redact only the specific exempt portions (e.g., personal privacy details or security-sensitive data) before disclosing the rest of the document, rather than withholding the entire record. The change directly affects state agencies that process FOIL requests, ensuring they disclose non-exempt information whenever possible. It also mandates that any denial must include a specific, justified reason for redaction, not just the document's category. This procedural update streamlines transparency while maintaining legal exemptions.

Provides for certain death benefits to correction officers, correction officer-sergeants, correction officer-captains, assistant wardens, associate wardens or wardens employed by Orange county.

Relates to including outpatient care provided by creative arts therapists in certain insurance policies covering care for other mental health services.