Sen. Lea Webb

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the state workers' compensation law to explicitly include recovery after a stillbirth as a valid reason for taking family leave. It directly affects employees who experience a stillbirth by ensuring they are entitled to paid time off to recover from the loss. The change adds a new category to the existing definition of family leave, which currently covers caring for sick family members, bonding with a newborn, and military-related exigencies. The law will apply to insurance policies and contracts issued on or after January 1st of the year following its enactment.

Requires all insurance policies and health maintenance organization contracts to provide coverage for maternity patients and their newborns for hospital stays of at least 48 hours following childbirth by natural delivery and 96 hours following childbirth by caesarean section; provides such coverage for patients who are recipients of medicaid.

Enacts the college student suicide prevention act to provide for policies, guidelines and training opportunities to effectively and appropriately prevent student suicide, intervene in crisis situations, and support college communities in postvention.

Removes language requiring the state from moving public safety surcharge funds into the state general fund; increases from seventy-five million dollars to one million dollars available for grants or reimbursements to counties for the development, consolidation, or operation of public safety communications systems or networks designed to support statewide interoperable communications for first responders.

Increases the amount for awards made to crime victims; specifies certain items of personal property which are necessary and essential to the welfare of a claimant.

Requires cultural awareness and competence training for medical professionals, including two hours of course work or training encompassing minority healthcare issues; provides an exemption for certain individuals; requires hospitals and facilities to request documentation of the completion of training from employees and prospective employees.

Establishes the New York state youth in agriculture and entrepreneurship summer employment program to provide students with the opportunity to be educated on the agricultural industry and alternative career paths and to provide agricultural work experience and entrepreneurship work experience.

Establishes the "small water utility transparency act"; requires the public service commission and the department of environmental conservation to conduct audits of certain private water companies; requires certain private water companies which are under certain investigations to file public updates on the status of compliance with such orders.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits elected officials from serving as members of local municipal agencies to prevent conflicts of interest. It directly affects city councils, town boards, and other elected bodies by removing their eligibility to sit on these agencies. The law includes an exception for industrial development agencies where the board is entirely made up of elected officials from the same municipality. Additionally, the bill provides a process for appointing new agency members if a current member must leave due to the new restrictions.

Requires the district attorney to notify victims by letter of the final disposition of the case within sixty days of such disposition in cases where such final disposition includes a conviction; provides such letter shall also notify victims of their right to make a victim impact statement; allows them to personally appear at parole hearings and make such a statement.