LEGISLATION TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE NYS SENATE IN THE 2024 SESSION
THIS IS A SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION BEFORE THE NYS SENATE IN THE CURRENT SESSION:
S.4020 - This bill will deem EMS as an essential service and require every city, county, town and village acting individually or jointly, or in conjunction with a special district, to ensure that an emergency medical service, a general ambulance service, or there is a provision for a combination of such services.
S.5117 - This bill will require schools to include critical mapping data in their school safety plans. Critical mapping data provides real time digital blueprints of the buildings and surrounding areas, which will enable law enforcement and first responders to act more quickly in the case of an emergency. This is based on the successful model of the Scarsdale Public Schools.
S.3335 - This bill establishes the Office of Flooding Prevention and Mitigation, a senior level office tasked with coordinating existing state work on flooding, supporting municipalities in their efforts to prevent and mitigate flooding, and researching flooding impacts and mitigation.
S.6980 - This bill will require school districts to provide notice of safe storage of firearm laws to parents and parental guardians of students. The content of notice would be developed by the New York State Department of Education.
S. 5617 - This bill strengthens New York State’s WARN Act, to provide greater protections for workers during mass layoffs. The bill would also require companies to pay severance to workers subject to qualifying mass layoffs.
S. 6557A - This bill will require utility companies to adopt updated generic financing methods when setting utility rates to ensure lowest possible delivery rates for ratepayers.
LEGISLATION CONCERNING VOTING
S. 7229 - This bill will update requirements for absentee ballot applications for school elections, removing barriers to voters exercising their right to vote remotely for school district elections.
Crimes of Voter Deception and Suppression: S263 prohibits deceptive practices and the suppression of voters, and increases penalties for violations of the elective franchise.
Democracy Preservation Act: , S371 would ban political spending by foreign-influenced business entities in New York’s state and local elections.
Refreshments at the polls: , S616 allows snacks and non-alcoholic drinks to be given to voters waiting in line at the polls.
Doctor John L. Flateau Voting and Elections Database and Academic Center of New York Act: S657A establishes a New York voting and elections database and an academic center to maintain a statewide database of voting and election data and serve as a research hub.
Political Committee Public Website Transparency: S6675 requires public-facing websites that are operated by political committees to include “paid for by” language.
Absentee Ballot Drop-off Box Locations: S610 allows local Boards of Elections to establish absentee ballot drop-off locations to provide voters with a convenient alternative option to submit their absentee ballots.
Protecting Constitutional Rights: B1460 rescinds calls for a constitutional convention to protect all existing constitutional rights.
Portable Polling Locations: S242 amends the election law to allow counties the option to establish portable polling places for early voting.
Ballot Order: S5943 modifies the order in which candidates appear on the ballot in descending order based on the size of the electorate and requires certain federal offices to be listed before state, county, and local offices.
Multistate Voter List Maintenance Organizations: S6173B authorizes the state board of elections to join a multistate voter list maintenance organization such as the Electronic Registration Information Center also known as ERIC.
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Statement by LWVNYS Executive Director on above voter-related legislation:
Laura Ladd Bierman, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of New York State said, “The League of Women Voters of New York State applauds the Senate for taking meaningful action on bills to protect our democracy. As the 2024 election approaches, it is critical that we safeguard our election system and ensure that every New Yorker can cast their ballot. We applaud the inclusion of bills that would allow for New York to join ERIC (a multistate voter list maintenance organization), expand access to the polls, and create the Doctor John L. Flateau Voting and Elections Database and Academic Center of New York Act. This database will increase transparency in our elections and provide the information needed to fight voter suppression more effectively across the state. We urge the Assembly to take similar action to protect voters and the democratic process.”
YOUR VOICE COUNTS: LET YOUR NYS SENATOR KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT PENDING LEGISLATION:
NYS Senators representing Westchester County are:
Shelley B. Mayer. 37th Senate District; Andrea Stewart-Cousins. 35th Senate District; Pete Harckham. 40th Senate District
To find your NYS Senator, click here: find-my-senator
To write to your legislator any time about any issue, go to their website and you will find a form on which to voice your concerns. You also can call their office and speak to a legislative assistant about your opinions and/or concerns. Be assured you will be heard. Each message is noted.