Sen. Pete Harckham

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes Putnam County to sell a specific parcel of parkland in Carmel to Homeland Towers, LLC for a 160-foot cell tower and associated equipment. The county must dedicate funds equal to the fair market value of the land toward acquiring new parkland or improving existing parks and recreational facilities. The bill does not change public access to parks but requires the county to offset the loss of parkland through equivalent public space investments. It directly affects Putnam County's land management and Homeland Towers' infrastructure plans.

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes the village of Croton-on-Hudson to run a demonstration program using cameras to monitor vehicle speeds in school zones. Under the plan, vehicle owners could be held financially liable if the operator of their car exceeds posted speed limits during school hours and surrounding times. The program would allow the village to install these monitoring systems in up to three zones at once, provided the equipment passes regular tests and is operated by trained staff. To protect privacy, the bill requires that images captured by the cameras generally exclude the driver and passengers, and it strictly limits how long and by whom these photos can be kept or shared. The authorization for this specific pilot program is set to expire on December 31, 2031.

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes the town of Southeast in Putnam County to rent out fences around the John E. Markel Memorial Park for advertisements. It allows a local non-profit organization to manage these ad spaces in exchange for a small fee, with all earnings strictly designated for the park's maintenance and care. The legislation overrides any existing local rules that might have prevented this specific type of lease agreement. Once passed, the town can immediately begin implementing this arrangement to generate funds for the park.

Maddy summaryThis bill removes child day care providers from a restriction that currently prevents them from receiving financial assistance from industrial development agencies. The change applies to local government projects where retail sales make up more than one-third of the total cost, which would otherwise block funding for such facilities. By explicitly exempting child day care providers, the legislation allows these businesses to access the same financial support available to other types of projects. The amendment takes effect immediately upon passage.

Maddy summaryThis bill adds Lake Oscawana and Roaring Brook Lake in Putnam County to the official list of major inland lakes in New York State. The change updates the legal definition of inland waterways by including these two specific lakes in the state's existing list of protected water bodies. This amendment affects state environmental regulations and conservation efforts related to these lakes, ensuring they receive the same protections as other major inland lakes already covered by the law. The bill takes effect immediately upon passage and does not create new restrictions but rather expands the scope of existing waterway protections.

Authorizes funding to local government entities from the urban development corporation through the electric generation facility cessation mitigation fund for an additional five years.

Establishes participation in assigned risk plans for voluntary foster care agencies (Part A); requires the office of children and family services to establish standards of payment for liability insurance costs beginning July 1, 2028 for the 2027-2028 rate year that ensures the maximum state aid rate accurately reflect the year over year increased costs for voluntary foster care agencies; directs such office to establish an application process (Part B); establishes the voluntary foster care agency insurance bridge fund; establishes a process for the distribution of moneys in such fund; sets eligibility requirements; requires certain supporting documentation (Part C).

Requires Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care regardless of federal funding; prohibits discriminatory practices by health care entities including hospitals, certain professionals, and insurers; requires insurance coverage for services or treatments for gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.

Prohibits the sale of products that contain 7-hydroxymitragynine at a level that exceeds 2% of total alkaloids or one milligram per serving; establishes fines for the sale of such products.

Maddy summaryS 8902 amends New York's social services law to ensure that medical assistance recipients (such as Medicaid beneficiaries) cannot access school-based health center services through managed care programs until at least April 1, 2026. The bill adds a specific provision requiring these services to be provided outside of managed care arrangements during that period. This directly affects medical assistance recipients who use school-based health centers and the managed care organizations that coordinate their care. The law takes effect immediately, but the amendment expires when the underlying section of the law is repealed.