The 2017 legislative session concluded last week, and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-88) is proud to announce several victories for the people of New York State. She authored 16 bills which passed both the Assembly and the Senate, including her bill to end child marriage which has already been signed into law. Here is a closer look at the legislation:

Signed Into Law

Chapter 35 Ending Child Marriage: Prohibits the marriage of minors under the age of 17 and strengthens the process to obtain court approval for marriage of minors at least 17 but under 18 years of age.

Awaiting the Governor’s Signature

A.2093-B/S.5273-A Falsification of School Records: Prohibits unauthorized and false alterations and tampering of any official student records, files, or data maintained by the school or college.

A.1982/S.3295 Crohn’s and Colitis Fairness Act: Amends the public health law to make employee-only restrooms in places of business open to those in the general public who have an eligible medical condition, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, which requires immediate access to a restroom.

A.2965/S.4172 Notice of Child Abuse in Foster Care: Requires reports of suspected abuse of a child be sent to the social services district charged with the care of such child when the child has been placed in a foster home in a different social services district.

A.7198-A/S.5512-A Hate Crime Threats Against Community Centers: Amends the penal law to include community centers in the definition of a “public place” as it relates to bomb threats and other offenses against public order. I was spurred into action after bomb threats in February forced evacuations of two community centers in Westchester, including the JCC of Mid-Westchester, where my family and I are members. About 200 people were evacuated from the JCC of Mid-Westchester, including 100 children who attend the center’s early childhood program.

A.1112-B/S.2139-B Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans’ License Plates: Authorizes the issuance of distinctive license plates to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars or their spouses, bearing the words “Veteran of the Iraq War” or “Veteran of the Afghanistan War.”

A.288/S.3745 Electric Car Charging: Requires utilities to offer customers the option to purchase electricity solely for the purpose of charging an electric vehicle. This would enable the utility to offer cheaper time-of-day or off-peak rates for charging, encouraging customers to charge their vehicles at times that are most beneficial for the grid.

A.464-B/S.2098-B Elephant Protection Act: Prohibits the use of elephants in any type of entertainment act. This will protect elephants from the physical and psychological harm caused by the living conditions, treatment and cruel methods necessary to train them to perform in entertainment acts such as circuses.

A.2750-A/S.2392-A Attorney’s Fees in FOIL Cases: Awards attorney’s fees to a prevailing party who has gone to court to challenge an agency’s refusal to provide records requested under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), when the court finds that the agency had no reasonable basis for denying the records.

A.474-A/S.1170-A Financial Literacy Course for Public Assistance Participants: Allows social services districts to offer participants in public assistance employment programs the option to complete a course in financial literacy and personal finance.

A.7394-A/S.5990-A Municipal Sustainable Energy Loan Program: Updates the municipal sustainable energy loan program, also known as property assessed clean energy or "PACE," to enable municipalities to finance more renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

A.473/S.2516 Disability Coverage for Probation Officers: Authorizes counties to provide disability coverage for probation officers injured in the line of duty.

A.6571/S.5190 Energy Storage Deployment Program: Directs the Public Service Commission to set a target number of energy storage installations and create programs to encourage more energy storage systems to be installed. Energy storage enables renewable energy to be used continuously which reduces the need for energy produced using fossil fuels.

A.7793-A/S.6749 Domestic Violence Voter Confidentiality: Enables victims of domestic violence to vote safely, by making it less burdensome to apply for a court order to keep their voter registration records confidential. The bill also expands the scope of the court order to include other records with respect to an individual in addition to the registration record itself. This will ensure that any records containing the voter’s address will not be made available to the public.

A.3198-A/S.2911-A Combat Veterans’ Paid Leave for Healthcare Services: Grants additional paid leave to combat veterans who are state employees for healthcare related services.

A.260/S.4069 Property Tax Exemption for Fuel Cells: Provides that micro-hydroelectric energy systems, fuel cell electric generating systems, micro-combined heat and power generating equipment systems, and electric energy storage equipment and systems are eligible for the real property tax exemption which is currently available only to solar, wind and farm waste energy systems.