Albany, NY – With a focus on assisting municipalities, public health and safety, and protecting the environment, New York State Senator Pete Harckham announced that the recently concluded legislative session was another productive session benefiting his constituents and residents statewide.

The Senate approved 81 of Harckham’s bills, the second consecutive year that legislative body passed over 80 of his bills, with 26 passing in both houses of the State Legislature. The bills addressed a wide range of issues, fighting food insecurity, supporting first responders and social workers, improving financial support for school districts, providing accessibility for adults with disabilities and advancing improved treatment options for individuals struggling with substance use disorder.

“This legislative session was about delivering tangible, structural progress that directly improves the daily lives of New York residents,” said Harckham. “Between the legislation I passed alongside my colleagues and the provisions we were able to secure in the budget, the Senate is responding to the challenges facing our communities and addressing critical needs.”

Some of this year's most important achievements were secured directly within the enacted FY2026-2027 State Budget. 

With the support of Senator Harckham, the budget included $200 million for the successful NY-Sun Program, which was a part of Harckham’s Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power legislation. This public funding will catalyze billions in private investment, expand local rooftop and community solar and save ratepayers $1 billion annually.

“At a time when residents are facing sky-high utility bills, strengthening our commitment to solar energy is more urgent than ever and the ASAP Act will deliver real relief for New Yorkers,” said Harckham.

An initiative that Harckham has been working on to advance for several years finally passed in the State Legislature. The “Traveling with Dignity Act” will require the installation of adult changing tables in public restrooms at a range of public locations, including roadside rest areas, museums, public libraries, public buildings, and amusement attractions. 

“This common-sense legislation will provide safer, more sanitary spaces for caregivers and family members assisting adults who need support,” said Harckham. “It will benefit residents and visitors alike while advancing the respect, dignity, and inclusion that all New Yorkers deserve.”

A number of other bills introduced by Senator Harckham and passed by the legislature will also protect vulnerable populations and support public safety: 

• Establishing a joint license for mental health and substance use comprehensive outpatient services
• Requiring DOCCS to make facility water testing results available to the public, incarcerated individuals and correctional facility staff
• Requiring social workers to be provided with a wearable or mobile phone-based panic button when visiting a client's home.

Other key bills that Harckham passed in both houses include:

• Enacting the Whale Awareness Act” to reduce whale strikes by establishing policies that regulate the operation of large vessels in certain areas to protect marine wildlife.
• Extending the existing law that facilitates the donation of food from supermarkets to food organizations and diverts edible excess food from landfills.
• Authorizing the DEC to map and protect tidal wetlands along the Hudson River.

Three more of Harckham’s bills have been chaptered and signed into law already:

• Relates to finding alternatives to the use of pesticides in the monarch preservation plan 
• Makes technical corrections relating to authorizing the Bedford Hills Fire District to file an application for exemption from school and real property taxes 
• Relates to the department of environmental conservation's regulation of crabs 

One bill passed in both houses addresses the loss of tax revenue for the Hendrick Hudson School District by extending the Cessation Mitigation Program for electric generation facilities like the now-decommissioned Indian Point nuclear plant for another five years.  

“The cessation mitigation fund has given municipalities and schools some breathing room, but the out years of the program are fast approaching,” said Harckham. “Extending the program will help alleviate the burden on taxpayers and give local officials more resources to work with.”

Additionally, the legislature passed five home rule bills authored by Senator Harckham at the request of local municipalities. These local bills ranged from reforming residency requirements for corrections officers in Rockland and Orange County to dedicating a portion of the state highway system in the town of Lewisboro, county of Westchester, to Nathaniel Reynolds, a hero in the American Revolutionary War.

“These bills all reflect important issues that our communities are facing, and I thank the many municipal officials, stakeholders, advocacy organizations, concerned residents, researchers and state officials for their help in our progress,” said Harckham. “I am truly inspired by everyone’s desire to work together and forge a better tomorrow for all New Yorkers.”