NYS Legislative Session 2022 & Bills Passed

The New York State Legislature closed its 2022 session in the early hours Saturday morning, wrapping up a year where over 1,000 bills were passed (the highest number since 1995) despite a series of challenges, including redistricting battles in an election year, the ongoing pandemic, the possible overturning of Roe and the tragic shooting in Buffalo, to name just a few. The City Bar has an active policy and advocacy component, driven and guided by the work of our committees, and we are pleased to report that a number of bills supported by the City Bar have passed both houses, covering issues including modernizing the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law, removing impediments to voting, and protecting animals from cruel commercial practices. Just this morning, Governor Hochul signed a package of gun safety bills into law; the rest of these bills await action by the Governor.  The Policy Department will be working with committees to further advocate for the measures in the coming months to ensure they are enacted. A list of bills supported by our committees that passed the Legislature can be found below; please click on the links for a full summary and the report.

Thanks to our dedicated committee members for their hard work in drafting comprehensive and informative legislative reports. The past committee year has been an extremely productive one. Our committees have issued or reissued 49 reports commenting on or proposing State legislation; this is in addition to roughly 80 reports issued on local, federal and international issues. We are privileged that the City Bar is able to provide our reports to State legislators for consideration as part of their deliberations.

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.

Signed Into Law

• A.7926-A (AM L. Rosenthal) / S.4116-A (Sen. Hoylman) – Requires the Division of Criminal Justice Services to first examine the technological viability of microstamping-enabled pistols, and if such investigation deems the technology viable, requires semiautomatic pistols sold in New York State to be microstamping-enabled. This bill was part of a package of gun control measures adopted by the Legislature, a number of which are in line with previous calls from the City Bar – and so many others – for further gun safety measures. Supported by the Criminal Justice Operations Committee (Tess M. Cohen, Chair).

Bill Passed Both Houses, Pending Action by the Governor

• A.9969 (AM Paulin) / S.9047 (Sen. Comrie) – Modernizes provisions of law relating to members, directors and officers to align with current practices, streamline procedures and eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens. Supported by the Non-Profit Organizations Committee (Jacqueline D. Ewenstein and Amarah K. Sedreddine, Co-Chairs).
• A.642-C (AM Carroll)  S.284-C (Sen. Myrie) – Requires counting affidavit ballots of eligible voters if a voter appears at a polling place in the correct county but in the incorrect election district. Supported by the Election Law Committee (Katharine G. Loving, Chair).
• A.8858-A (AM Carroll) / S.2951-A (Sen. Kavanagh) – Reduces the time for mailing and receipt of registration application to constitutional minimum. Supported by the Election Law Committee (Katharine G. Loving, Chair).
• A.4283 (AM L. Rosenthal) / S.1130 (Sen. Gianaris) – Combats cruel companion animal breeding practices by prohibiting the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits by retail pet shops; authorizes space for adoption. Supported by the Animal Law Committee (Robyn S. Hederman and Rebecca Seltzer, Co-Chairs).
• A.5653-B (AM L. Rosenthal) / S.4839-B (Sen. Biaggi) – Prohibits the manufacture or sale of cosmetics tested on animals. Supported by the Animal Law Committee (Robyn S. Hederman and Rebecca Seltzer, Co-Chairs).
• A.8586-B (AM Simon) / S.7107-B (Sen. Mannion) – Ensures that the rights of people with intellectual, developmental, cognitive and psychosocial disabilities are properly protected by creating Supported Decision-Making as a less restrictive alternative to guardianship. Supported by the Mental Health Law Committee (Karen P. Simmons, Chair) and Disability Law Committee (Katherine Carroll, Chair).
• A.10444 (AM Quart) / S.9398 (Sen. Cooney) – Extends the expiration of provisions relating to the estate tax treatment of dispositions for certain surviving spouses. Supported by the Estate and Gift Taxation Committee (David E. Stutzman, Chair) and Trusts, Estates and Surrogate’s Courts Committee (Angelo M. Grasso, Chair).

This list does not include budget-related items; information on the City Bar’s work related to the budget is here. 

**For the latest status of the bills listed in this article, click here.