The New York State Bar Association’s 2025 Government Relations End-Of-Year Update

The New York State Bar Association’s 2025 Government Relations End-Of-Year Update

1.8.2026

By Matthew Pennello, Lena Faustel and Hilary Jochmans

It has been a busy year for the New York State Bar Association’s Government Relations, and we look forward to 2026’s Legislative Session to continue to build on our successes.

Among the successes was the passage of the Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) Act. After a report by the Task Force on MAID was adopted by NYSBA’s House of Delegates in January of 2024, NYSBA strongly advocated for passage of the bill in Legislature. When the bill was passed by the legislature in June of 2025, NYSBA President Kathleen Sweet and MAID Task Force Chair Mary Beth Morrissey joined the Government Relations team in advocating for the bill with the Governor’s office. A letter writing campaign to encourage the Governor to sign the bill was launched by the Government Relations team in late November resulting in over 300 NYSBA members voicing their support. On December 18th the Governor invited President Sweet to join her when she announced her intention to sign the bill after negotiating chapter amendments with the Legislature to ensure the bill had the strongest safeguards possible. The bill will be signed in January and go into effect six months later. To help our membership understand the implications of the bill, NYSBA will be hosting a series of CLE courses on the topic; details to come.

NYSBA State Legislative Priorities

Successful lobbying ensured an Assigned Counsel rate increase. Another of NYSBA’s priorities was again included in the budget this year, ensuring that the State would continue to share the burden of cost with municipalities while still aiding those individuals who provide services. The Association continues to call on the State to fully fund the increased rate, and to enact a permanent escalator mechanism.

Due to prolonged budget negotiations, the houses ran out of time on many bills. See below some policies that we will continue to advocate for in the 2026 legislative Session.

• Notary Bill: Among NYSBA’s legislative priorities for 2025 was the passage of A7683(Lavine)/S6910(Hoyman-Sigal), a bill which would exempt non-electronic notarial acts from the record-keeping rules and regulations set forth by the Department of State. NYSBA’s leadership and the Government Relations team advocated strenuously in support for this bill through memos and meetings. The Assembly passed the bill, but after a shortened session due to a drawn-out budget period, the Senate ran out of time and did not act on the bill. This continues to be a priority for the Association as we move into the 2026 legislative session.
• S2422/A3849, which would repeal section 470 of the judiciary law which requires out-of-state attorneys to have a physical office in NYS. This bill passed in the Senate this year and made it out of committee in the Assembly. However, the Assembly ran out of time before they could also pass it.
• S141/A270, which would establish the right to legal counsel in immigration court proceedings; A4669/S6772, which would establish the civil right to counsel in eviction proceedings; and A1234/S551, which would require child protective services to disclose certain information to parents and caretakers who are the subject of a child protective services investigation did not move out of Committee this year, but with the current political climate the Government Relations team hopes to see it gain more traction in the coming session.
• A2620-A/S878-B, which would amend the family court act and the criminal procedure law, in relation to the custodial interrogation of juveniles by law enforcement. This bill passed in the Assembly but ran out of time in the Senate.

New York State Bar Association Priorities – 2026

Every year NYSBA solicits recommendations for policies for the Bar Association advocate as priorities in the upcoming session. We received a number of submissions from eight different sections and committees. Our Legislative Policy Committee discussed and voted, choosing a list of seven State and seven Federal priorities for the Association to focus their advocacy efforts on in 2026.

A list of the priorities can be found on our website here under the NYSBA Legislative Priorities tab.

Our Association membership is diverse, covering a wide range of interests and specialties. Please know that if a policy was not chosen as a priority, the Government Relations team will still be dedicating time and resources to advocating for those policies of the Association.

NYSBA State Legislative Policy

Several pieces of legislation supported by Association policy moved in both houses this session. Three bills supported by NYSBA were signed into law:

• A66/S550: AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the administration of the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment to replace anonymous reporting with confidential reporting, was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor. NYSBA supported A66(Hevesi)/S550(Brisport) after the adoption of the Committee on Families and the Law’s 2022 Report which examined the way that anonymous reporting could harm families, particularly black and brown families, due to false reports which still lead to extensive and, many times, traumatic investigations by Child Protective Services. President Sweet commended the bill’s sponsors, Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi and Senator Jabari Brisport, and Gov. Kathy Hochul for their efforts to make the child abuse reporting system fairer.
• S8312/A7563: AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the removal of actions to certain courts in an adjoining county. This legislation allows cases to be transferred from a county that has no mental health court to an adjoining county that does, subject to the consent of the district attorneys in both counties. It’s a commonsense way to ensure that more New Yorkers have access to the mental health treatment they need, while reducing recidivism rates and increasing public safety. This bill was passed by the Legislature and chaptered by the Governor. NYSBA supported this bill via the Task Force on Mental Health and Trauma Informed Representation’s 2023 Report. This bill will take effect immediately.

Two bills supported by NYSBA passed both houses but were vetoed by Governor Hochul:

• S2520-B/A3425-A: AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to time frames for responding to requests for records under the freedom of information act. NYSBA supported this bill via the Task Force on Free Expression in the Digital Age’s 2021 Report. This legislation was vetoed by the Governor due to concerns that the new deadlines would be unworkable with the current resources agencies are allocated.
• A5898/S5083: AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to death benefits for the beneficiaries of certain members of the retirement system. This bill was vetoed by the Governor last session, with the Governor stating that the costs for this and other retirement-related bills should be accounted for in the state budget process. The same reasoning was applied in this year’s veto.

The Legislature did not have time to act on the bills listed below, however NYSBA Government Relations is already working with the bill sponsors to move them in 2026:

• S161/A1602: AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the New York state district attorney and indigent legal services attorney loan forgiveness program. This bill passed in the Senate but did not make it out of Committee in the Assembly.
• S1409: AN ACT to amend the Uniform Justice Court Act, the Town Law and the Village Law, in relation to requiring certain town and village justices be admitted to practice law in the state. This bill was passed in the Senate but was not introduced in the Assembly.
• S2240-A/A5414-A: AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to removing the lifetime ban on jury duty for convicted felons; and to repeal certain provisions of such law related thereto. This bill did not pass either house this session.
• S3036/A3234: AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to making technical corrections to ensure gender neutrality for the admission to practice law and preventing any required disclosure of prior interaction with law enforcement or the criminal justice system under certain circumstances. This bill was passed in the Senate but did not move out of Committee in the Assembly.
• S4825-A/A2663-A: AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to the age limitation for judges. This bill showed some movement in both houses but did not pass in either.
• S845/A860: AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting drug, cannabis or alcohol testing and screening of pregnant or postpartum individuals and newborns. This bill is supported via the Committee on Families and the Law’s 2022 Report. It showed some movement in the Senate but did not pass in either house.
• S4547/A4869: AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law and the judiciary law, in relation to judicial diversion programs; and to repeal certain provisions of the criminal procedure law relating thereto. The Association supported this bill in the 2023 Report by the TF on Mental Health and Trauma Informed Representation and reiterated that support in the recently adopted report by the Task Force on Opioid Addiction. This bill did not pass in either house this session
• S134/A118: AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to school climate and codes of conduct on school property and disciplinary action following violation of such codes of conduct; and to amend the education law, in relation to making conforming amendments. This legislation is supported by NYSBA via a recommendation in the 2023 Task Force on Racism, Social Equity and the Law Report. This bill has been chosen as one of NYSBA’s policy priorities for the 2026 legislative session.

Please follow this link to see the full list of the New York State Bar Association’s legislative memorandum for the 2025 legislative session.

Committee and Section Legislative Action

The New York State Bar Association has over 28 sections and over 60 committees and task forces that members participate in. Many of these bodies were legislatively active this year with over 50 memos, comments and letters submitted to the Legislature, the Governor, and a number of State Agencies in 2025. Legislative updates for specific committees and sections are available on our website.

If your Committee or Section is interested in submitting a memo in support or opposition of pending legislation, or commenting on a regulatory change, please contact our Director of Government Relations Matthew Pennello at mpennello@nysba.org, or Lena Faustel, Government Relations Policy Manager, at lfaustel@nysba.org.

A full list of the bills we advocated for this session can be found here: 2025 and 2026 Legislative Memoranda – New York State Bar Association.