We pass many laws in the state Assembly and some take effect immediately while others take effect at a later date. Please find highlights below of legislation previously signed into law by the Governor and are now in effect!
| New Laws Taking Effect – December 2021 | |||
| Effective Date | Chapter | Bill Number | Summary |
| 12/1/2021 | Ch. 413 of 2021 | A.1143-A | Codifies existing guidance from the Department of Taxation and Finance to clarify that vendor purchasing is not subject to sales and use tax receipts. |
| 12/3/2021 | Ch. 556 of 2021 | A.2505 | Provides that a lawsuit involving contracts for consumer goods may be brought in the county in which the consumer resides, in addition to any other county that has jurisdiction under law. |
| 12/6/2021 | Ch. 431 of 2021 | A.2354 | Prohibits the receipt into evidence of possession of opioid antagonists, such as naloxone, in a criminal or civil case charging alleged illegal possession of controlled substances. |
| 12/7/2021 | Ch. 443 of 2021 | A.2203 | Directs the Division of Veterans’ Services to provide links on its website to information and resources available to assist veterans who experience post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. |
| 12/7/2021 | Ch. 456 of 2021 | A.7601 | Relates to the Raise the Age law and requires juveniles who are arrested during evening hours and weekends when family courts are closed to be brought before a judge rather than spend the night or weekend in jail. |
| 12/8/2021 | Ch. 590 of 2021 | A.3359 | Prohibits utility companies from harassing, oppressing or abusing any residential customer in regard to a residential customer complaint, a deferred payment agreement or an unpaid balance owed by such customer. |
| 12/8/2021 | Ch. 594 of 2021 | A.5838 | Requires that at least one commissioner of the Public Service Commission have experience in utility consumer advocacy. |
| 12/16/2021 | Ch. 630 of 2021 | A.6193 | Requires utility corporations, municipalities, water-works corporations, and telephone service providers to allow customers to use their preferred name and pronouns. |
| 12/19/2021 | Ch. 484 of 2021 | A.324-A | Expands the definition of the offense of coercion in the third degree to include the production or dissemination of nude images. |
| 12/21/2021 | Ch. 158 of 2021 | A.5465-D | Enacts the Gender Recognition Act, which allows for the use of “X” as a non-binary sex designation on driver’s licenses, lists gender identity on official documents, permits name change and sex designation changes to be sealed and amends birth certificates to use a designation of mother, father, or parent. |
| 12/22/2021 | Ch. 66 of 2021
Sec. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 |
A.1254 | Requires hospitals to adopt and periodically update protocols for the management of expectant mothers that present in an emergency department if it is determined that an emergency medical condition exists. It also requires hospitals to provide pre-term labor patients with information regarding the potential health effects of pre-term labor, as well as informing to the patient that the medical assistance program may provide coverage regardless of immigration status and of their right to request a hospital discharge review. |
| 12/23/2021 | Ch. 355 of 2020 | A.6710-A | Requires the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to place incarcerated parents at correctional institutions and facilities closest to their children’s home. |
| 12/23/2021 | Ch. 65 of 2021 | A.974 | Requires the Department of Labor to create a registry of workplace fatalities in the construction industry and requires employers to report all incidents under which an individual performing construction work suffers a work-related fatal injury in the workplace. |
| 12/23/2021 | Ch. 160 of 2021 | A.7568 | Establishes the apiary industry advisory committee, allows for inspections to ensure bee health and to combat bee diseases and establishes the cooperative honeybee health improvement program. |
| 12/28/2021 | Ch. 234 of 2021 | A.7684 | Allows the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs to provide final case outcomes to OPWDD providers when abuse and neglect conduct by employees occurred at a different provider employing such individual, or when the case was not finalized upon hiring an individual. |
| 12/31/2021 | Ch. 378 of 2020
Ch. 19 of 2021 |
A.732-B | Prohibits the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in many common weed-killer
products, on state property, except in limited circumstances related to infrastructure, public safety, invasive species and research. |
| 12/31/2021 | Ch. 383 of 2020 Ch. 68 of 2021 | A.7820-A | Requires a process for notification of new homeless shelters and conducting a public information session in the community where the proposed shelter is to be located. |
| 12/31/2021 | Ch. 54 of 2016 | A.9006-C | Increases the minimum wage for upstate to $13.20 per hour. Increases the minimum wage in Westchester and Long Island to $15 per hour. |
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