Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Prohibits participation in torture of incarcerated individuals by health professionals; prohibits a health care professional from engaging, assisting or planning the torture of an incarcerated individual; requires health care professionals to report torture.

Provides grounds for attachment; relates to procedures where employees may hold shareholders of non-publicly traded corporations personally liable for wage theft; relates to rights for victims of wage theft to hold the ten members with the largest ownership interests in a company personally liable for wage theft; relates to penalties for certain wage violations.

Maddy summaryThis bill exempts the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and related transit agencies (New York City Transit Authority, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority) from paying state fees when issuing bonds. It amends a law to specifically exclude these agencies' bonds from standard bond issuance charges required by the state. The provision directly affects how these transit authorities finance projects by removing a financial obligation for bond sales. The change applies immediately upon enactment and covers all bonds issued by these entities, including those tied to federal recovery programs.

Increases the minimum wage outside of New York city and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester; repeals certain provisions of law relating to exceptions to minimum wage increases.

Removes the exclusion of part-time employees from certain definitions relating to employment and expanding the definition of employer; removes certain exclusions for employer notice requirements for the closing of a facility; removes the discretionary reduction of penalties for employers for certain acts or omissions concerning notice requirements for mass layoffs, relocations or employment loss; removes the maximum time period for determining back pay and other liabilities for certain employees who experience employment loss; allows the attorney general to take certain action to assist certain employees in receiving back pay and other liabilities; requires employers to pay severance to employees when there is a plant closing, relocation, or mass layoff.

Precludes inadmissible statements made by defendants because of false facts about evidence or because of a statement that undermines the reliability of the defendant's statement; requires data collection and analysis by the division of criminal justice services of recorded interrogations.

Requires inclusion of complete street design for state and local transportation projects undertaken by DOT or which receive both federal and state funding and are subject to DOT oversight.

Maddy summaryThis bill gives New York's Board of Regents final authority to approve or deny all new and renewed charter school proposals. Charter schools seeking approval must resubmit their applications to the Board of Regents after addressing its feedback, and the Board must make a final decision within 30 days (or the proposal is automatically approved). It directly affects charter school applicants and entities by shifting the final approval decision from local authorities to the state Board of Regents, requiring all modifications to satisfy the Board's recommendations before approval. The bill does not change the process for charter school operations, only the final approval step for new or renewed charters.

Establishes the community chemical dependency services expansion program; provides funding for local governmental units for the provision of new and expanded chemical dependency services.

Maddy summaryS 2296 would create a new role for court-appointed advocates in New York animal welfare cases. In any civil or criminal case involving an animal's well-being, courts could appoint a volunteer advocate from a list maintained by the court to monitor the case, access relevant records (like vet or animal control reports), and share information with lawyers and the court. The advocate would present recommendations about the animal's interests but cannot subpoena witnesses or obtain discovery. This directly affects animals involved in legal cases and the courts handling them, with advocates limited to lawyers or supervised law students. The bill requires courts to appoint such advocates upon request or initiative, focusing on the animal's welfare as a distinct interest.