Sen. Lea Webb

Directs the boards of trustees of SUNY and CUNY to create a free or reduced meal plan to aid students whose household incomes are below the federal poverty line, students participating in educational opportunity programs under section three hundred fifty-five-d of this article and students receiving federal Pell grants.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows school districts to establish seven specific cultural and religious holidays - Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Tihar, Bandi Chhor Divas, and Onam - as official school holidays. It applies only to districts where the local school board determines there is a sizable student population observing these days. The provision gives districts flexibility to recognize these holidays without mandating statewide changes. The bill does not require any district to adopt these holidays but provides a framework for local decisions. It takes effect on July 1 following enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a new licensing category for "natural hair care and braiding" within New York's cosmetology regulations. It defines specific practices like braiding, twisting, and loc extensions using botanical products, while excluding chemical treatments, hair coloring, or permanent structural changes. The law directly affects hairstylists specializing in textured hair who previously operated under broader cosmetology licenses. Key provisions clarify that licensed practitioners must use tension techniques without chemicals and specify permitted styling methods for all hair types.

Provides assistance to incarcerated individuals being released from correctional facilities for enrollment in safety net assistance, public assistance, supplemental assistance program (SNAP), special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC), the home energy assistance program (HEAP), supplemental security income, and state supplemental payments.

Establishes a state SNAP minimum benefit program to provide a minimum amount of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits that is higher than the amount of federal SNAP benefits.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 7415) allows individuals aged 60 and older to hunt deer using a crossbow during a designated special archery season. It amends hunting regulations to add a new eligibility category for crossbow hunting, specifically for seniors, replacing previous restrictions that limited crossbow use to younger hunters. The law requires the state environmental department to create regulations for this season and establish documentation rules to verify a hunter's age eligibility. The policy takes effect June 1, 2026, and directly affects older adult hunters in New York State.

Maddy summaryS 4731, the "Small Contractors Relief Act," creates a pilot program to help small contractors who were denied liability insurance coverage. It establishes the New York Small Contractor Safety Group, Inc. - a nonprofit organization that will provide insurance coverage to eligible contractors who have been rejected by traditional insurers. The program targets contractors meeting specific criteria, including those with under $1 million in annual revenue (or higher revenue with proof of insurance denial) and certified minority/women-owned businesses. The bill appropriates funds to support this pilot program and outlines its governance structure, including a nine-member board appointed by state leaders.

Provides alternate education and experience requirements for mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and psychoanalysts licensed prior to 06/24/2027, to be issued privilege to diagnose and develop assessment-based treatment plans; removes fees for application for such diagnostic privileges.

Relates to establishing the housing access voucher program; provides that the commissioner of the division of housing and community renewal shall implement a program of rental assistance in the form of housing vouchers for eligible individuals and families who are homeless or who face an imminent loss of housing; provides that the commissioner shall designate housing access voucher local administrators in the state to administer the program.

Requires the department of agriculture and markets to maintain a publicly available database of the results of its graded inspections on its website; requires the department to provide information as to where a customer may file a consumer report; requires the department to facilitate and coordinate the planning and implementation of an awareness and educational program to inform the general public on the standards retail food stores shall meet and how consumers may report retail food stores with poor sanitary conditions.