Sen. Jeremy Cooney

Maddy summaryThis bill allows parking tickets to be served to vehicle owners by first-class mail and grants an additional sixty days to respond if the notice is sent to a post office box. It also provides a mechanism for waiving late fees if an owner can prove they did not receive a mailed ticket in a timely fashion, provided the original fine is paid. Additionally, the bill introduces new regulations for the use of photographic evidence in parking enforcement, requiring municipal employee approval, restricting photo usage, and setting data retention limits. Signage must also be posted where camera enforcement is utilized.

Creates a public umbilical cord blood banking program within the department of health to promote public awareness of the potential benefits of public cord banking, to promote research into the uses of cord blood, and to facilitate pre-delivery arrangements for public banking of cord blood donations.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits police officers from using chemical agents - such as pepper spray, tear gas, or oleoresin capsicum - against any minor under 18 years old in all circumstances. It directly affects minors under 18 and requires all police departments to update their use-of-force policies to ban these chemical agents. The law amends existing policy rules to explicitly forbid such use, applying immediately upon enactment. This is a policy change to restrict specific police tactics targeting children, with no exemptions or exceptions specified.

Exempts horse-drawn carriages or carts from the ban on night riding if they display at least two lighted lamps on the front of the vehicle, one on each side, having light sources of equal power and visible from the front for a distance of at least three hundred fifty feet; at least one lighted lamp on the rear, located between the center and the left side of the vehicle, which shall display a red or amber fixed or flashing light visible from a distance of at least five hundred feet; and reflective material upon the shafts of the vehicle or other parts thereof which shall normally parallel the body, head or legs of the horse pulling such vehicle.

Provides that any service outside of a city with a population of more than one million, that is designated as a microtransit service shall be eligible for statewide mass transportation operating assistance regardless of vehicle size; defines "microtransit service" to mean a technology-enabled on-demand service with dynamically generated routing that uses a managed fleet of multi-passenger vehicles dedicated to that service.

Establishes the teachers' fossil fuel divestment act; requires the New York state teachers' retirement system to divest the retirement system of any stocks, securities, equities, assets, or other obligations of corporations or companies included on an exclusion list of coal producers and oil and gas producers.

Relates to the content and procedure for certification by pharmacists of patients using medical cannabis; allows a pharmacist employed by a registered organization and responsible for supervising the dispensing of medical cannabis within a cannabis dispensing facility to recommend and certify patients upon consultation within such dispensing facility.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes New York's career education funding by starting aid for students in grade nine (instead of grade ten) and increasing the per-pupil aid amount from $3,900 to $4,300. It directly affects school districts operating career programs in trade, industrial, technical, agricultural, health, or business/marketing fields. The funding formula adjusts for district wealth and requires districts to maintain minimum spending levels on career education, with the changes taking effect for the 2025-2026 school year.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the New York State Youth Sports Initiative Grants Fund to provide financial support to nonprofit youth sports organizations. The fund, managed by the state comptroller and commissioner of children and family services, will receive state appropriations and other designated funds to make grants to eligible organizations based on criteria set by the commissioner. Annual reports detailing fund operations, grant recipient profiles, and recommendations for future funding must be submitted to state leaders. The bill creates no new requirements for recipients beyond standard grant application rules and includes a $250 civil penalty for knowingly submitting false information.

Expands eligibility for participation in the pre-licensing course internet pilot program; extends such provisions of law from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2030.