Sen. Jeremy Cooney

Allows for individuals consent to receive information from the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program and the national marrow donor program at the time of application for or renewal of a driver's license or non-driver identification card; directs the commissioner of motor vehicles to establish a process by which the department of motor vehicles shall refer driver's license and non-driver identification card applicants who consent to having their information shared with the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program and the national marrow donor program for the purposes of receiving information from such programs about enrolling as a potential donor.

Directs the department of environmental conservation to conduct a study of ecological restoration needs of Jamaica Bay; imposes a five-year moratorium on placing sediment or fill in the borrow pits in Jamaica Bay.

Maddy summaryBill S 3655 establishes a new 25-year retirement plan for firefighters employed by the Division of Military and Naval Affairs. This plan allows eligible firefighters, including airport firefighters and training and safety officers, to retire after completing 25 years of creditable service. Upon retirement, these members would receive a retirement allowance equal to one-half of their final average salary. The bill specifies that creditable service includes time in their DMNA firefighter roles, service as a paid firefighter in other departments, and certain wartime service. Members have one year from the effective date to elect to join this new plan.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 8218, now Chapter 567) modifies how interest costs are calculated for bonds financing Rochester school rehabilitation or reconstruction projects. It establishes a specific formula for determining the interest rate used to calculate state aid for these projects, requiring cities to provide annual interest rate analyses to the education commissioner. The bill ensures that refunding bond savings (from refinancing existing school debt) must be used solely for new eligible school projects. It directly affects Rochester schools, the Monroe Industrial Development Agency, and the State Dormitory Authority in administering school facility funding. The law clarifies the process for calculating interest costs to align with state funding formulas for school modernization programs.

Maddy summaryS 3294 updates New York's medical cannabis program by extending the validity of patient and caregiver registry cards from one to two years, streamlining certification processes for doctors, and clarifying possession limits. It requires practitioners to complete training before issuing certifications, allows special certifications for patients with progressive conditions, and permits patients to possess up to a 60-day supply of cannabis (aligning with existing penal law). The bill directly affects certified patients, designated caregivers, and healthcare providers by modernizing documentation, reducing administrative burdens, and updating expiration rules. It repeals the outdated Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act, consolidating the program under revised cannabis law provisions. This law took effect after being signed by the governor in November 2025.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 3236) allows registered pharmacy technicians to work in any licensed pharmacy under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist. It permits technicians to assist with tasks like preparing, labeling, and dispensing prescriptions or medications - provided these tasks require no professional judgment (which remains the pharmacist's responsibility). The law requires pharmacists to be physically present during these tasks, authorize all work, and approve it before any medication is dispensed. The pharmacy must also ensure technicians receive proper training before they begin assisting. The bill is now law (signed November 21, 2025).

Establishes a state frontotemporal degeneration registry; defines terms; requires every physician, nurse practitioner, nurse physician assistant and general hospital that diagnoses or is treating a patient diagnosed with an FTD disorder to give notice to the department; requires certain information to be confidential; sets forth the duties of the commissioner of health; requires the department of health to create and maintain a webpage.

Authorizes the commissioner of health to approve certain reimbursement rates for certain programs established by not-for-profit and public skilled nursing facilities in upstate New York nursing home regions that are designed to work collaboratively on efforts to improve nursing home efficiency, staffing, and quality of care.

Establishes "The Equity in Fertility Treatment Act"; relates to the definition of infertility and health insurance coverage for the treatment of infertility.

Provides that receipts from other services and other business receipts, taxpayers, and combined groups including members, engaged in providing professional employer organization services shall include with such receipts amounts received with respect to wages, benefits, and other employee expenses disbursed to or for the benefit of a client's worksite employees and the related employment taxes if the amounts received are included in the calculation of the business income base or the combined business income base, respectively.