New York State Legislation Responding to COVID-19
Posted on: April 2, 2020
SB 7919 Temporarily expands the definition of disaster in state law to include disease outbreak and permits the Governor to issue any directive necessary to respond to a state disaster emergency. Makes an appropriation of $40 million from the State Purposes Account of the General Fund for responding to the outbreak of coronavirus disease. Enacted.
SB 8091 Provides provisions for certain employee benefits when such employee is subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19. Enacted.
Summary:
- The bill provides protections for employees of private and public employers who are subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine related to COVID-19 (“quarantine”).
- Employees working for an employer with 1-10 employees, subject to quarantine will receive unpaid sick days until termination of quarantine and will immediately qualify for paid family leave and temporary disability benefits, plus full job protection.
- Employees working for an employer with 11-99 employees and employers with 1-10 employees with a net income of $1 million a year, subject to quarantine will receive five paid sick days and will immediately qualify for paid family leave and temporary disability benefits, plus full job protection.
- Employees working for an employer with 100 or more employees, and public employees, subject to quarantine will receive paid sick days for the entirety of the quarantine (up to 14 days), plus full job protection.
- Employees will qualify for paid family leave to care for a minor dependent child who is subject quarantine.
- This law goes into effect immediately.
SB 7996/AB 10189 An act to amend the Education Law, in relation to the attendance of minors upon full day instruction and the conditions under which districts, including the city school district of the city of New York, are entitled to an apportionment of state aid and the closure of schools due in response to COVID-19. The Bill provides that school districts are entitled to an apportionment of state aid for the closure of schools due in response to the novel coronavirus, even when no state of emergency has been declared. Pending.
SB 8014 An act in relation to providing that certain schools shall experience no financial harm for reduced enrollment or inability to operate for the full 180 session days due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The bill provides that certain schools receive tuition payments from the state for any period of time such schools are required to close in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. Pending.
SB 8041/AB 10172 Amends the Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law and the Volunteer Ambulance Workers’ Benefit Law, in relation to COVID-19 exposure during a state of emergency. The bill proposes to amend the applicable laws so that a volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance worker who during the course of their duties is exposed to COVID-19 would be eligible for immediate testing and treatment. Any condition, impairment of health, or death resulting from COVID-19 would be covered by the volunteer firefighters benefit law or volunteer ambulance workers’ benefit law. Pending.
AB 10169 Amends the Election Law; authorizes absentee voting where a voter is unable or averse to appear personally at the polling place because of an imminent, impending or urgent threat resulting from a disease outbreak, including but not limited to COVID-19. Pending.
AB 10182 Extends the renewal of driver’s licenses, non-driver identification cards and inspections of motor vehicles for three months. Pending.
AB 10204 Amends the Retirement & Social Security Law; relates to the retiree earnings cap for health care workers during a declared public health related state of emergency declared by the governor. Pending.
AB 10207 Establishes that all voting for the April 2020 presidential primary be conducted by absentee ballot; no application for such shall be necessary and the local board of elections shall provide such ballot at least 15 days prior to April 28, 2020. Pending.
AB 10208 Establishes the Coronavirus Pandemic Small Business and Not-For-Profit Organization Loan Program. Pending.
SB 8107 Requires SUNY and CUNY schools to refund students for housing credits and boarding charges used or charged for the period of time when such schools are closed or shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pending.
SB 8110 An act to amend the economic development law, in relation to establishing the small business containment assistance program; and making an appropriation therefor. The amendment aims to provide small businesses within COVID-19 designated containment area grants up to $10,000 per business to help offset lost revenue due to the impact of being located within the zone. Pending.
SB 8109 This bill would suspend mortgages and loans from state-chartered banks and state-chartered credit unions for small businesses and restaurants that have closed or reduced services due COVID-19. Pending.
SB 8112/AB 10160 Amends the Election Law; decreases the number of signatures needed for designating petitions and independent nominations by one-third for political subdivisions, wholly or in part, within a county in which one or more residents have been confirmed to be diagnosed with COVID-19 for year 2020. Pending.
SB 8117 Relates to a presumption regarding impairment of health caused by COVID-19 and in relation to sick leave. Provides police, sheriffs, corrections, parole and probation officers with medical care coverage and sick leave if such employee is exposed to COVID-19 while working and then tests positive for COVID-19. Pending.
SB 8118/AB 10183 Amends the General Business Law; prohibits negative credit reporting on consumers who have suffered financial harm as a result of the declared state of emergency relating to COVID-19. Pending.
SB 8119 Amends the transportation Law; relates to paratransit services within the state and city of New York during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Pending.
SB 8122 Authorizes the New York City Department of Finance to extend until June 15, 2020, the deadline for the filing of applications and renewal applications for certain real property tax abatement programs in the interest of the health and safety of the public due COVID-19. Pending.
SB 8123 Permits any individual to receive free COVID-19 testing; provides that such individuals may be tested anonymously and no identifying information shall be provided to any non-medical state or federal agency. Pending.
SB 8124 Requires airlines and travel insurance companies to provide refunds for travel cancelled due to COVID-19. Pending.
SB 8125 Suspends all rent payments for certain residential tenants and small business commercial tenants if such tenant has lost employment or was forced to close their place of business and certain mortgage payments for landlords of such tenants in the state for ninety days following the effective date of this act in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. Pending.
SB 8126 Amends the Retirement & Social Security Law; relates to the retiree earnings cap for health care officials and workers during a declared public health related state of emergency declared by the governor. Specifically, the amendment would allow State and Local Governments to hire retired public health officials and workers provided that these workers continue to be employed for the purposes of fighting the COVID-19 virus. Pending.
SB 8139 An act to suspend rent payments for certain tenants in response to the outbreak of coronavirus; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the COVID-19 rental assistance fund. Specifically, the act would; (1) suspend rent payments for tenants who have lost earned income or had their businesses shut down due to COVID-19 and instead requires payment at 30% of their actual income during the emergency; (2) provides for aid, administered by Homes and Community Renewal, to property owners that receive less rental income due to this act; (3) prohibits the filing of new petitions to commence eviction proceedings for 30 days after the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency. Prevents landlords to use late or reduced rent payments as the basis of a summary holdover proceeding for the chronic nonpayment of rent; and (4) establishes a COVID-19 Rental Assistance Fund to provide aid to property owners using unrestricted emergency federal aid and any other funds available from the state. Pending.
SB 8140 The bill proposes to amend the public housing law by providing for a COVID-19 emergency rental assistance program. To bill would provide emergency rental assistance to tenants suffering a substantial loss of income due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Pending.
AB 10226 This bill is intended to hold harmless businesses who currently hold business interruption insurance, for losses sustained as a result of the current COVID-19 health emergency, but for which no such coverage is currently offered.
Section 1 of the Bill which I think is pertinent for our purposes reads as follows: “provides a mechanism by which certain businesses that suffer losses due to interruption as a result of the COVID-2019 pandemic may recover those losses from their insurer if they had a policy of business interruption insurance in force on March 7, 2020, the date on which the Governor declared a Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency in Executive Order 202. The bill would apply to businesses covered by such a policy with less than 100 eligible employees in the State of New York. “Eligible employee” is defined as a full-time employee who works a normal work week of 25 or more hours. Pending.
AB 10227 Amends the
Election Law; relates to moving the date of the presidential primary to June
23, 2020; permits absentee voting in the event of an imminent, impending or
urgent threat resulting from a disease outbreak; removes certain presidential
candidates and their delegates from primary ballot where the candidate has
suspended their campaigns or removed themselves from consideration for election
to such office. Pending.