Budget & Taxes (Audits & Accountability)

This bill authorizes New York state and local municipalities to establish permanent memorials honoring those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It creates a dedicated "COVID-19 permanent memorial fund" managed by the state comptroller and parks department, which will receive state appropriations, grants, donations, and bequests specifically for building and maintaining these memorials. The bill requires community input - especially from families of those impacted - during memorial design and location decisions, with all funds kept separate from other state money.

Establishes a fraud assessment commission; directs the chair of the workers' compensation board, in consultation with the workers' compensation fraud inspector general and the fraud assessment commission, to establish an assessment for workers' compensation fraud investigations to fund the investigation and prosecution of workers' compensation fraud, willful failure to secure payment of workers' compensation, and failure to keep true and accurate records; establishes the workers' compensation fraud investigation fund in the joint custody of the chair of the workers' compensation board, the commissioner of labor, and the comptroller, which shall consist of monies received from the imposition of the assessment for workers' compensation fraud investigations.

This bill creates a $100 million capital fund specifically for volunteer fire departments, administered by the Office of Fire Prevention and Control. It appropriates state funds to provide grants for capital projects like equipment, facility upgrades, or vehicle purchases - directly benefiting volunteer fire departments across New York. The fund requires written grant agreements, quarterly reporting on fund usage, and strict rules for how money can be spent. All monies are held in trust by the office, invested per comptroller guidelines, and must be used solely for approved capital improvements.

Establishes the New York state first home grant program; directs the commissioner of homes and community renewal, in consultation with the state comptroller, to implement such program; provides assistance on behalf of a first time home buyer qualified for such program; and for costs in connection with the acquisition, involving an eligible mortgage loan, of an eligible home, including downpayment costs, closing costs, and costs to reduce the rates of interest on eligible mortgage loans; subsidies to make shared equity homes affordable to home buyers by discounting the price for which the home will be sold and to preserve the affordability of the home for subsequent home buyers; and pre-occupancy home modifications required to accommodate qualified home buyers or members of their household with disabilities; excludes the amount of any grant to any first time home buyer awarded or any federal first time home buyer grant program from taxable income for the purpose of calculating New York adjusted gross income.

This bill creates a public awareness campaign about maternal depression for both the public and maternal healthcare providers, funded through a new $20 million "maternal depression fund." The fund, managed by the state comptroller and tax commissioner, receives the $20 million appropriation and directs it to the Department of Health to implement the awareness program. It directly affects New York residents, particularly new mothers and healthcare providers, by providing resources to educate about maternal depression risks and treatments. The bill establishes clear mechanisms for funding allocation and disbursement without altering existing healthcare services or eligibility.

Relates to minority depository institutions which apply to establish a home or branch office in an unbanked or underbanked community; provides that such institutions shall be entitled to receive deposits from the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance.

Relates to minority depository institutions which apply to establish a home or branch office in an unbanked or underbanked community; provides that such institutions shall be entitled to receive deposits from the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance.

Enacts into law major components of legislation necessary to implement the state health and mental hygiene budget for the 2025-2026 state fiscal year; requires the commissioner of health to provide a quarterly report on known and expected department of health state funds Medicaid expenditures through state fiscal year 2026-2027 (Part A); extends the effectiveness of various provisions relating to social services and healthcare including medical reimbursement and welfare reform (Part B); relates to supplemental hospital payments (Part D); shifts long-term nursing home stays from managed care to fee for service; authorizes penalties for managed care plans that do not meet contractual obligations (Part E); requires a health plan to pay the MCO provider tax for each calendar year; requires every health plan subject to the approved MCO provider tax to submit reports; imposes penalties for failure to submit such timely payments; grants the commissioner of health audit powers; relates to the healthcare stability fund; relates to Medicaid payment increases for certain medical services; makes certain Medicaid payment increases contingent upon the availability of funds within the healthcare stability fund (Part F); relates to insurance coverage for medical malpractice paid for by funds from the hospital excess liability pool; extends portions of the New York Health Care Reform Act of 1996 (Part G); eliminates the fees paid by funeral directors for permits for burials and removals which are used to support the electronic death registration system; repeals certain provisions of such law relating thereto (Part I); relates to extending the time for awards to be granted to applications for the statewide health care facility transformation III program (Part J); requires general hospitals to report community benefit spending by July 1 of each calendar year (Part M); requires hospitals to provide stabilizing care to pregnant individuals; defines terms; repeals provisions relating to required protocols for fetal demise (Part P); relates to improving access to and increasing coverage for infertility treatments (Part Q); requires hospitals to have sexual assault forensic examiners (Part T); extends the provisions relating to preferred sources for entities that provide employment to certain persons (Part Z); extends certain provisions relating to clarifying the authority of the commissioners in the department of mental hygiene to design and implement time-limited demonstration programs to 03/31/2028 (Part AA); extends the effectiveness of certain provisions relating to the appointment of temporary operators for the continued operation of programs and the provision of services for persons with serious mental illness and/or developmental disabilities and/or chemical dependence (Part BB); extends certain provisions relating to services for individuals with developmental disabilities (Part CC); amends the definition of minor to exclude certain homeless youth for purposes of allowing such homeless youth to consent to certain medical, dental, health and hospital services, including behavioral health services (Part DD); relates to involuntary admission and assisted outpatient treatment; establishes the behavioral health crisis technical assistance center; relates to required training and maintaining of records relating to persons dealing with mental health and substance use crises (Part EE); provides that director of the budget, the commissioners of the office of mental health, office for people with developmental disabilities, office of addiction services and supports, office of temporary and disability assistance, office of children and family services, and the state office for the aging shall establish a state fiscal year 2025-2026 targeted inflationary increase, effective April 1, 2025, for projecting for the effects of inflation upon rates of payments, contracts, or any other form of reimbursement for the programs and services (Part FF); relates to the composition and work of mental health incident review panels (Part GG); provides that school-based health centers shall not be provided to medical assistance recipients through managed care programs until at least April 1, 2026 (Part HH); requires any New York subdivision that directly received funds pursuant to a statewide opioid settlement agreement to publicly post on their website information regarding how such funding was utilized and submit such information to the office of addiction services and supports (Part II); relates to clarifying which entities handle the reporting of pregnancy loss; and the responsibilities of health care providers and penalties for not protecting the identities of individuals who suffered a pregnancy loss (Part JJ); extends the authorization for certain fees and charges related to emergency medical services (Part KK); relates to the modernization and revitalization of the Nassau health care corporation (Part LL); extends certain provisions relating to the NYS medical indemnity fund (Part MM).

Establishes the mechanical insulation energy savings program to provide grants for qualified mechanical insulation expenditures to school districts, public hospitals, public housing buildings, and political subdivisions that have completed a qualified audit.

Establishes a fraud assessment commission; directs the chair of the workers' compensation board, in consultation with the workers' compensation fraud inspector general and the fraud assessment commission, to establish an assessment for workers' compensation fraud investigations to fund the investigation and prosecution of workers' compensation fraud, willful failure to secure payment of workers' compensation, and failure to keep true and accurate records; establishes the workers' compensation fraud investigation fund in the joint custody of the chair of the workers' compensation board, the commissioner of labor, and the comptroller, which shall consist of monies received from the imposition of the assessment for workers' compensation fraud investigations.