Sen. Steve Rhoads

Requires the commissioner of education, in consultation with the commissioner of health, to develop a bleeding control kit program which requires bleeding control kits to be installed in easily accessible areas of schools; requires training of personnel to use bleeding control kits in the event of an injury to another person.

Maddy summaryS 23 expands an existing tax credit for farmers to include the cost of constructing housing for farm workers. This change directly affects farmers who build residential housing for their employees, allowing them to claim the credit for construction materials and labor. The bill amends tax law to explicitly add "construction of residential housing occupied by farm workers" to the list of eligible expenses under the credit, which previously covered farm-related equipment and property. Farmers must still meet other requirements, such as property situs in the state and use in farming operations.

Maddy summaryS 1150 makes it a class D felony to assault a registered security guard while they are working in a hospital or health care facility. This bill directly affects security guards employed in these settings by increasing penalties for attacks against them. The key mechanism is amending New York's penal law to specifically include "registered security guards in a hospital or health care facility" in the list of protected professionals, similar to nurses, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel. Previously, such assaults might have been classified as lower-level offenses, but this change elevates them to a felony.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows farm operators whose primary income comes from farming to receive refunds for excess investment tax credits starting in 2025. If a farmer’s tax credit exceeds their tax liability for a year, they can elect to treat the difference as an overpayment refundable under existing tax law. The refund option applies only to credits from specific tax provisions (sections 210-B and 606 of the tax law) and requires the taxpayer’s primary income to be from a farm operation as defined in agriculture law. It does not change credit amounts but provides a new refund mechanism for qualifying farmers. The change takes effect January 1, 2025.

Establishes the intent of the legislature to generally defer to parental choices regarding the care, custody and control of their children; mandates that the death of a parent shall be a factor when considering a grandparent's standing to receive visitation or custody; directs that costs be payable by an unsuccessful petitioner where a contest was brought in bad faith.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases penalties for aggravated cruelty to animals when committed during a domestic violence incident. It raises the maximum prison sentence from two years to four years for offenders who harm animals during domestic violence, including the period of tension before or stress after the violence. The law directly affects individuals convicted of animal cruelty who also commit domestic violence, as defined by state law. The change applies to specific acts of animal cruelty committed in the context of domestic violence, not general animal cruelty cases.

Requires a government photo identification card to be presented when casting a ballot; provides for a method to receive a government photo identification card at no charge; provides that notaries are not permitted to collect a fee for collecting the documents required.

Relates to the provision of grants to eligible school districts to cover the costs of school resource officers employed at schools in such districts; authorizes boards of cooperative educational services to enter into contracts with local police entities to provide school resource officers.

Requires pharmacies to provide prescription drug readers or other means of access to individuals who disclose they have difficulty seeing or reading standard print labels on prescription drug containers; defines "prescription drug reader" to mean a device which is capable of audibly conveying information contained on the label of a prescription drug; makes exceptions.

Directs the commissioner of health to establish a cannabis awareness program for youths age eighteen and younger designed to educate about the effects and risks associated with cannabis use, including that it is illegal for persons under the age of twenty-one.