|
This week, the state senate and assembly reported another 549 bills through legislative committees. For the first time in our state, and nations history, we have introduced more than 17,500 bills in the first six months of the first year of a legislative cycle.
Of particular interest to counties, on Tuesday the State Senate advanced almost all county sales tax and local tax extenders. These bills are now waiting for action in the Assembly Ways and Means committee. We expect these bills to be taken up over the next few weeks.
In addition to tax extenders, legislation instituting mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting has passed both houses of the legislature and will impact county operations.
The bill, S.7672-A (Martinez) / A.6769-A (Jones), requires counties (as municipal corporations) to report all cybersecurity incidents and ransom payment demands to the NY Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) within 72 hours of reasonably believing an incident has occurred.
If a ransom is paid, counties must notify DHSES within 24 hours of payment and submit a full explanation within 30 days, including rationale, payment method, alternatives considered, and compliance checks.
The bill makes incident reports and ransom-related records exempt from FOIL, ensuring sensitive information is not publicly disclosed.
It also requires mandatory annual cybersecurity training for employees who use technology starting January 1, 2026. The state will offer training at no charge, but counties may use their own equivalent programs.
Additionally, the bill provides that if counties request help, DHSES must acknowledge within 48 hours and provide assistance ASAP.
NYSAC will have a comprehensive report analyzing all of the bills that advance through both chambers once the legislature concludes their regularly scheduled session on June 17th.
| 
