Sen. Andrew Dimitri

Maddy summarySB 1133 reclassifies unauthorized use or theft of gift cards as larceny or forgery under state law. It makes it a crime to steal or use a gift card without consent (under $1,500) or alter a gift card, subjecting offenders to larceny penalties (up to $1,000 fine or 1 year in jail) or forgery penalties. For amounts exceeding $1,500 or repeated offenses within six months, penalties escalate to standard larceny charges. This directly affects gift card holders (who may be defrauded), card issuers, and retailers, by treating gift card fraud as equivalent to traditional property theft under Chapter 6-59. The bill takes effect upon passage.

Maddy summarySB 414 permits retired state employees, including paid members of the state labor relations board, to continue receiving their full retirement benefits while working in specific post-retirement roles. The bill amends retirement rules to clarify that retired members may serve in certain positions - such as on the labor relations board, as part-time teachers, or in limited judicial roles - without forfeiting benefits. Key provisions require employers to notify the retirement board monthly about such employment and prohibit additional retirement contributions or service credits for this work. The law specifically allows continued benefit receipt for roles like municipal board members, classroom instruction, or part-time nursing services, subject to annual pay limits.

Maddy summarySB 475, the "David Casey Act," requires public and private golf courses to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) on-site. This law expands existing requirements for AEDs at healthcare facilities and other public places (like schools, restaurants, and sports arenas) to specifically include golf courses. The bill mandates that all golf courses, regardless of whether they are publicly or privately operated, must maintain an AED accessible for immediate use in emergencies. This policy change directly affects golf course operators by adding a new safety equipment requirement.

Requires all lifeguards, and park rangers, to be trained in administering opioid antagonists, and would require all public beaches to keep available a minimum of four doses of opioid antagonist.

Prohibits any city, town, quasi-municipal corporation or public corporation from assessing any existing agricultural operation or agricultural land for the extension of any water utilities past the property and from imposing any connection fee.

Recognizes that municipal employees have the opportunity to utilize interest arbitration and would establish new factors for the arbitrators to consider. These factors include comparisons of wages/hourly conditions of employment in similarly skilled jobs.

Allows animal control officers in the cities and towns to lawfully take charge of and provide adequate care to any animal found abandoned or neglected or hazardously accumulated and would increase penalties for malicious injury to or killing of animals.

Maddy summarySB 988 adds Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday and Washington's Birthday to the list of recognized holidays under state labor law for purposes of work regulations on holidays and Sundays. This means employers must follow the same rules for these two holidays as they do for other designated holidays, such as requiring overtime pay or time off for eligible employees. The bill specifically amends the definition of "Holidays" in the labor code to include these days, affecting all employers covered by the state's work-on-holidays and Sundays provisions. It does not change existing exemptions for certain industries or employees. The bill passed the Senate and takes effect upon passage.

Allows retired state employees who worked for the unified judicial system as certified or qualified court interpreters to be employed or reemployed for a limited period in a given year.

Maddy summarySB 895 suspends the gross earnings tax on electric and gas utility companies from January 1, 2026, through January 1, 2035. Specifically, it stops the 4% tax on electricity corporations (as defined in subsection 2) and the 3% tax on gas corporations (as defined in subsection 6) during this period. The bill does not permanently repeal the tax but delays its collection for a decade. This directly affects utility companies that generate electricity or distribute gas to the public. The suspension takes effect on January 1, 2026, as specified in the bill text.