Sen. Steve Rhoads

Maddy summaryS 4930 makes certain fees charged for emergency medical services (EMS) permanent, replacing a temporary 4-year provision that was set to expire. The bill changes existing law to eliminate the expiration date for fees collected by municipalities or EMS providers under a 2022 law. This directly affects local governments and emergency medical service organizations that collect these fees. The key change is removing the automatic repeal after four years, ensuring these fees remain in place indefinitely. The bill does not create new fees or alter service requirements - only changes the duration of existing fee collection.

Relates to establishing the COVID-19 children scholarship; provides that children whose parent, primary caretaker or sibling died or was disabled as a result of contracting COVID-19 shall be eligible for such scholarship.

Maddy summarySenate Bill S 7954 amends the requirements for organizations providing fiscal intermediary services in the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. It expands the definition of "fiscal intermediary" to include more entities, such as certain service centers for independent living, granting them equal status to the statewide fiscal intermediary. These newly defined fiscal intermediaries can contract directly with managed care plans and must provide culturally and linguistically competent services. The bill also removes the specific procurement process for a single statewide fiscal intermediary, aiming to offer consumers more choice in these services.

Excludes the five state-run veterans homes from assessments on their gross receipts received from all patient care services and other operating income; directs the Commissioner of Health to apply to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for any necessary waivers pursuant to federal law and regulation.

Prohibits a mandatory immunization against the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 for children, incapacitated persons, or students or staff of employment institutions or day care facilities; prohibits requiring people to carry or present evidence of having received the COVID-19 vaccine.

Authorizes the director of the division of minority and women's business development and the county executive of counties to enter into a memorandum of understanding to allow reciprocity between the state and such county for businesses that are certified as minority and women-owned business enterprises.

Designates certain offenses against emergency medical services personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers as hate crimes; includes the definition of emergency medical services personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.

Enacts the overdose prevention and recovery act; directs that at least twenty percent of funds from the opioid stewardship fund shall be invested in recovery services and supports; requires an annual report to the legislature regarding funds distributed from the opioid stewardship fund; makes the opioid stewardship fund permanent.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all traffic-control signals in New York State to be examined and certified as accurate every two years. It directly affects the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT), local governments, and entities that install signals with DOT permission (such as schools or private property entrances). The key provision mandates biennial accuracy checks to ensure signals function correctly, replacing prior maintenance standards. This applies to all signals under DOT jurisdiction, including those installed before 1986 under specific conditions. The change focuses on routine safety verification without altering signal operation rules.

Requires the department of economic development, job development authority, and urban development corporation to provide preferences to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the administration of their economic development assistance programs; requires annual reports thereon.