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2025 New York State Legislative Session Wrap Up
The New York State legislative session concluded in mid-June, with the Senate adjourning largely on schedule and the Assembly extending its session by three days to address outstanding issues. After budget negotiations with Governor Hochul led to the latest state budget in 15 years, the Legislature passed an overwhelming number of bills in a matter of weeks. Despite much of the legislative activity for the year occurring in a condensed timeline, the City Bar saw successes on several bills supported by its committees. Ultimately, 9 bills supported by our committees passed both houses and now await action by the Governor.
A list of bills supported by City Bar committees that passed both houses of the Legislature can be found below; please click on the links for a full summary and the report. The Policy Department will be working with committees to further advocate for the measures in the coming months to ensure they are signed into law by the Governor.
- The New York Emerging Technology Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code (A.3307-A AM Bores) / S.1840-A Sen. Hoylman-Sigal) would modernize, rationalize, and clarify the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) so that it effectively governs the commercial law aspects of important transactions in digital assets. The Amendments include introducing a new Article 12 for controllable electronic records, allowing electronic promissory notes and bills of exchange, and facilitating electronic commerce by recognizing electronic equivalents of “written” or “signed” requirements. The Amendments are designed to maintain New York’s leadership in commercial and financial transactions, particularly in the digital asset space, by enhancing transactional certainty and efficiency. Benefits include promoting technological advancements, retaining New York’s role as a global financial leader, and supporting the state’s attractiveness to multinational businesses. The Amendments will also assist the Commercial Division of New York courts by clarifying jurisdiction over technology-related disputes. The Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies (Lorraine McGowen, Tiffany Smith, and Jerome Walker, Co-chairs) first proposed the Amendments, in collaboration with the Uniform Law Commission, in February 2023. Since that time, the Task Force has been actively advocating for the Amendments’ passage, conducting extensive outreach to related stakeholders, meeting with elected officials and producing educational materials, events and podcasts. This bill is a 2025 New York State Legislative Agenda item.
- The Uniform Special Deposits Act (A.5345 AM Hunter / S.4323 Sen. Krueger) would create a versatile new type of bank account – a “Special Deposit” – designed to safeguard the trillions of dollars involved in everyday transactions by New York consumers and businesses. Supported by the Commercial Law and Uniform State Laws Committee (Gizem Alper, Chair), the Act would permit depositors and their banks to “opt-in” to clear statutory rules that will protect a Special Deposit from premature creditor interference or the bankruptcy of the depositor. In particular, the Act would give banks and their customers a flexible payment mechanism to ensure safe, secure and efficient payments to account beneficiaries. It will also protect all parties from uncertainties under existing law, including depositor bankruptcy risks and premature creditor claims. The Act would also enhance New York’s status as a preeminent commercial jurisdiction by giving banks a valuable new service to offer their customers and by avoiding the loss of business to other states that may adopt the Act. The Committee first supported the Act in a 2024 report. This bill is a 2025 New York State Legislative Agenda item.
- The Council on Judicial Administration (Fran R. Hoffinger, Chair) supported a bill to eliminate the “Death Gamble” for judges and justices (A.5898 AM Tapia / S.5083 Sen. Sepulveda). This bill would permit an eligible retirement system member to receive, in lieu of an ordinary death benefit, a death benefit such member would otherwise be entitled to receive provided such member is a state-paid judge or justice of the unified court system or a housing judge of the civil court of the city of New York. Judges are forced to gamble that they can live long enough to retire so that when they die, their families will be entitled to receive an adequate pension that they can opt to receive as a monthly allowance. Many judges enter judicial service in their fifties or sixties without prior governmental service; as such this “Death Gamble” is not theoretical, as they hope to serve long enough to accrue significant retirement credit. This bill was vetoed by the Governor in 2024 (along with several other bills aimed at providing State and local employees with various enhancements to retirement or disability benefits) over concerns about funding. However, the City Bar continues to believe this system is unfair and should be eliminated, as it was for police officers, firefighters and teachers in previous legislation. The Council has supported this amendment since it was first proposed in 2015 by the New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA).
- The Anti-Harassment in Reporting Bill (also known as the Confidential Reporting Bill) (A.66-A AM Hevesi / S.550-A Sen. Brisport) would benefit children and families by ending the anonymous reporting of alleged child maltreatment and requiring all reporters to identify themselves, thereby deterring false and malicious reporting. Under current state law, anyone may call the child maltreatment hotline, for any reason, and anonymously lodge a report of abuse or neglect. Because members of the public are not required to provide any identifying information, this results in many false and malicious reports of child maltreatment. Some believe anonymous reporting is necessary because, without a guarantee of anonymity, individuals will hesitate to make a report (fearing it will lead to acts of retaliation and/or damage of familial, neighborly or community relationships). However, because reports will continue to remain confidential under the bill, except for the investigating child protective specialists, protection of the reporters’ privacy and safety is expected. The bill has been supported by the Children and the Law Committee (Amy Hozer-Weber and Christina Rich, Co-Chairs) and the Council on Children (Cathy A. Cramer, Chair) since 2022. This bill is a 2025 New York State Legislative Agenda item.
- The Council on Children (Cathy A. Cramer, Chair) also supported legislation which would amend New York’s Public Health Law to allow all foreign-born adoptees, regardless of their age, to obtain a New York State birth certificate (A.1944 AM Paulin / S.3765 Sen. Hoylman-Sigal). Currently, only those adopted before age 18 can receive such a certificate, leaving many adult adoptees reliant on foreign documents that may be inaccurate, in a different language, or unavailable because they were adopted from countries experiencing internal discord or adopted from countries that have an uncooperative relationship with the United States. The proposed amendment would replace the word “child” with “person of any age,” removing the age restriction, and would also permit attorney-certified copies of adoption documents to prevent loss of originals. This legislative change would significantly improve access to identity documents for adult adoptees, helping them participate fully in everyday life
- The New York State Coerced Debt Bill (A.3038-A AM Rosenthal / S.1353-A Sen. Cleare) would prohibit creditors from enforcing consumer debts incurred through fraud, duress, intimidation, threat, force, identity theft, or similar economic abuse, and would establish a right of action for debtors to seek relief. Supported by the Domestic Violence Committee (Heather Lothrop and Debra Sambataro, Co-Chairs) and Sex and Law Committee (Natalie Birnbaum and Susan Cersovsky, Co-Chairs) the bill aims to address certain financial abuse by amending the New York General Business Law to protect domestic violence survivors from being held liable for debt created through fraud, coercion, or abuse. Domestic violence does not always involve physical abuse. Financial abuse is prevalent in relationships involving domestic violence and includes behaviors that control the survivor’s access to money, employment, and/or their ability to acquire, use, or maintain financial resources. Coerced debt is a form of financial abuse and refers to any non-consensual, credit-related transaction demanded or coerced by an abusive partner. It is a pervasive problem for many survivors. As explained by the Committees in their report, “[c]oerced debt not only affects survivors’ credit ratings, which itself is a profound repercussion, but also creates barriers to housing, employment, and basic necessities (including as a result of wage garnishment and bank account freezes). Each of these, independently and collectively, perpetuate the control of an abuser even after the abusive relationship ends.” Despite such evident and long-lasting harm caused by this pervasive issue, currently New York lacks a legal remedy for coerced debt
- The Sex and Law (Natalie Birnbaum and Susan Cersovsky, Co-Chairs), Civil Rights (Evan Henley, Co-Chair), Health Law (Debra Cohn, Chair), and LGBTQ Rights Committees (Hayley Gorenberg and Jared Trujillo, Co- Chairs) supported “Shield Law 2.0, ” which would protect access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare (A.5480-C AM Bronson) / S.4914-B Sen. Hoylman-Sigal). As more than half of U.S. states have enacted restrictions or bans on abortion and gender-affirming care, particularly targeting youth, patients are increasingly turning to telehealth and out-of-state providers for access. Some states are attempting to criminalize or sue providers and supporters, even across state lines, for offering care that remains legal elsewhere, including in New York. The proposed Shield Law 2.0 strengthens New York’s existing protections by closing loopholes and reinforcing safeguards for both healthcare professionals and sensitive patient data. It limits access to private medical records by requiring affirmations that subpoenas are not connected to out-of-state prosecutions for legal care, and penalizes false affirmations. It also clarifies that professionals, including therapists, clinicians, and attorneys, cannot face disciplinary action for providing or supporting legal care in New York. These provisions aim to maintain New York as a sanctuary for comprehensive healthcare, defend providers from politically motivated legal actions, and preserve patient privacy.
- The Trusts, Estates, and Surrogate’s Courts Committee (Brian P. Corrigan, Chair) and State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee (Amy D. Carlin, Chair) supported amendments to the New York Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) to enhance service of process procedures (A.8408 AM Dais / S.8175 (Sen. Sepulveda). The proposed revisions to SCPA §307 would permit service by certified mail without return receipt, allowing for more efficient, cost-effective, and reliable service, including electronic methods when needed. Changes to SCPA §308 would amend the rules on service periods within and without the State while SCPA §309 would deem service by electronic means to be complete upon transmission of the process to the recipient. These changes will streamline legal processes, reduce administrative costs, and maintain the reliability and integrity of service.
- The Bioethical Issues Committee (Anne Zimmerman, Co-Chair and Emily Beer, Chair-Elect) conveyed support for Medical Aid in Dying legislation (A.136 AM Paulin) / S.138 Sen. Hoylman-Sigal), which would allow a terminally ill, mentally capable adult (with a life expectancy of six months or less) to receive a prescription to self-administer a lethal medication, so long as certain safeguards are met. The City Bar had commented on previous versions of the legislation, which has gone through several amendments in recent years. In urging the Governor to sign the bill into law, the Committee highlighted the bill’s requirement that physicians inform patients about palliative care and hospice and urged that improved access to those services be pursued concurrently with the implementation of the bill.
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We will continue to provide updates on the status of these bills in the coming months, so please make sure to follow us on social media and read the 44th Street eNews and other City Bar publications for updates.