The legislation prohibits the eviction of tenants in financial distress during the pandemic. Nursing homes would be required to develop and adopt annual pandemic emergency response plans for review and approval by the state Health Department. Price gougers of products or services "vital or necessary to the health, safety, and welfare of consumers or the general public" would be subject to strict sanctions.
Other actions provide state-financed rental vouchers, a one-year extension for plaintiffs seeking monetary damages for claims of child sexual abuse, and penalties for employers who take action against employees who speak out against workplace safety hazards.
"I'm proud to have cosponsored these and other measures approved by the state Assembly and Senate Wednesday,"
said Assembly Member Seawright.
"The Legislature is moving swiftly to respond to this unprecedented health crisis, and more legislative action is imminent. Everything is on the table in the era of Covid-19."
Significant administrative changes in nursing home response to infectious disease threats are required under the new legislation, which awaits the signature of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The nursing homes "annual pandemic emergency plan" will include protocols for:
- Communicating the status of each nursing home resident to family members
- Protecting patients, staff, and visitors from infection
- Ensuring hospitalized residents be cleared of infection before readmission to the facility
- Preserving a resident's place in the facility if they have been hospitalized
- Ensuring the facility maintains at least a two-month supply of personal protective equipment.
The wide-ranging agenda of legislation cosponsored by Assembly Member Seawright and passed this week by the Assembly and Senate include:
A.7652A to allow cemeteries to provide sales of cemetery lots and related services over the internet. This would modernize cemetery operations as the existing Not-for-Profit Corporation Law does not contemplate website sales by cemetery corporations.
A.10252A to permit municipalities to defer certain property taxes during the COVID-19 State of Emergency and permit installment payments to be determined by the local legislative body. No additional interest or penalties will accrue during such deferment.
A.10290B to prohibit the eviction for nonpayment of rent of residential tenants. They have suffered financial hardship and were in arrears on rent while New York on PAUSE imposed restrictions in their county. The tenant would remain liable for the rent owed, but this legislation will ensure New Yorkers are not made homeless due to these extraordinary circumstances.
A.10351B to require New York State regulated banking institutions to grant 180 days of mortgage forbearance, with the option for an additional 180 days, on a residential mortgage on their primary residence to any mortgagor who can demonstrate financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A.10404A to ensure audio-only and video- only telehealth and telemedicine services will be eligible for reimbursement. This will help ensure that individuals will continue to be able to access needed health care services, to the extent such services are deemed appropriate by the Department of Health, to provide through audio-only telehealth, while still maintaining proper social distancing to prevent spread of COVID-19.
A.10493 to allow a witness or party at a preliminary hearing on a felony complaint to appear by electronic means during a state of disaster emergency.
A.10508A to allow licensed pharmacists to administer a vaccine for COVID-19 no sooner than 90 days once a vaccine has been approved by federal and state public health agencies.
A.10509 to include the Commissioner of the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) as a member of the Disaster Preparedness Commission. During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers indicated a likely spike in relapse and emerging substance use disorders. Including OASAS in disaster management planning will help ensure the best care for patients.
A.10519 decouples the City of New York from certain provisions in the unincorporated business tax, the general corporation tax, and the business corporation tax from recent federal changes.
A.10521 to prohibit a utility corporation or municipality from terminating or disconnecting services to any residential customer for the nonpayment of an overdue charge for the duration of the COVID-19 State of Emergency. This moratorium will last 180 days from the expiration of the COVID-19 State of Emergency for those residential customers that have experienced a change in financial circumstances.
A.10522 to enact the "Emergency Rent Relief Act of 2020" to establish an interim residential rent relief program for low-income tenants. The program will issue a subsidy for tenants who were rent-burdened before the COVID-19 pandemic – or are paying more than 30 percent of their income toward rent – and are now experiencing an even greater rent burden due to a loss of income.
A.10528 to establish a COVID-19 pension benefit for families of public employees who die due to their workplace exposure to the disease.
