Sen. Jack Martins

Enacts "the combating campus antisemitism act"; prohibits the granting of tuition assistance awards to any student who has knowingly engaged in promoting antisemitism in a manner that is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action, that constitutes "true threats"; makes related provisions.

Maddy summaryS 6842 adds specific protections against anti-Semitism to New York's human rights law and hate crimes statute. It defines anti-Semitism to include actions like demonizing Jewish people, spreading false conspiracy theories about Jewish communities, or blaming Jewish individuals for societal issues. The bill requires state agencies to use this definition when reviewing discrimination complaints based on Jewish religious practice, heritage, or ethnicity. Violent acts motivated by anti-Semitism that cause injury or property damage will now be classified as hate crimes under New York law.

Allows courts to consider the risk of continued substance abuse and likelihood of serious harm to the principal when considering committing such principal to the custody of the sheriff.

Enhances penalties for aggravated cruelty to animals by making such offense a felony, including torture, beating, or killing of any animal; makes animal cruelty, including overdriving or depriving an animal of sustenance a felony when committed while released on recognizance for violating an order of protection; allows aggravated animal abuse to be considered for bail.

Maddy summaryBill S 7021 establishes a new retirement service credit for members of New York State public retirement systems who serve as volunteer firefighters or emergency service providers. Eligible members can receive one year of service credit for every five years of volunteer service, up to a maximum of three years of credit for fifteen years of service. To qualify, members must have at least five years of existing credited service and will pay a portion of the cost, calculated as three percent of their compensation for the twelve months preceding the application. The bill requires volunteer service to be certified by the agency and applications to be submitted before retirement.

Requires the principal of any high school to allow any local trade union, upon request, to enter the school for the purpose of trade union recruitment, including, but not limited to: making presentations; disseminating literature; and answering questions by students.

Enacts the New York state antisemitism vandalism act which establishes the crime of vandalism of pro-Israel print, which provides a class A misdemeanor for any individual who intentionally destroys, damages, removes, or causes to be destroyed, damaged or removed any banner, poster, flyer or billboard which is located in a public space, where the intent or purpose of such banner, poster, flyer or billboard is to bring awareness for Israeli individuals who have been victims of a crime, or to positively support the country or citizens of Israel in any way.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 1943) expands New York's hate crime definition to include trespassing at religious buildings like churches, synagogues, mosques, or other houses of worship. It directly affects individuals who commit trespass at these locations while targeting someone based on their race, religion, gender identity, or other protected characteristics. The key change amends the penal law to add these locations to the list of places where a hate crime can be charged, raising the offense level if convicted. This creates a specific legal pathway for prosecuting bias-motivated trespass at religious sites.

Maddy summaryThis bill clarifies that defendants under electronic location monitoring are not legally considered "confined" or "in custody" for specific legal purposes. It amends the criminal procedure law to explicitly state that such defendants are not deemed "held in custody" for section 180.80 or "committed to the sheriff's custody" under section 170.70. The change directly affects defendants subject to electronic monitoring, altering how their status is defined in legal proceedings. This is a technical adjustment to existing law, ensuring electronic monitoring does not trigger certain custody-related legal requirements.

Repeals congestion pricing (Part A); directs the metropolitan transportation authority to contract with a certified public accounting firm for the provision of an independent, comprehensive, forensic audit of the authority (Part B).