Law New is a daily publication from the Library of Congress covering legal news and developments worldwide. It is updated frequently and draws on information from official national legal publications, as well as reliable press sources.
Law is an official rule or regulation that governs behavior within a society or country. It is created by debate, voting and approval of a legislative body such as Congress or a city council. Once approved, laws are made public by the government and can be found in a written document called a statute. New York’s laws can be found in several places including the Constitution of the State of New York, laws passed by the legislature and periodically codified in the Consolidated Laws of the City of New York, and decisions made by courts that interpret the meaning of existing laws.
New legislation is helping victims and families get the assistance they need in the wake of a deadly fentanyl epidemic. The legislation, known as “Matthew’s Law,” allows local pharmacies and health care providers to distribute fentanyl and drug adulterant testing resources. The law is named in memory of Matthew Horan, a student who died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2020.
In addition, a new law makes it easier for students to access school supplies and resources. The legislation, called the School Supplies Tax Exemption Act, provides a temporary exemption from sales and use taxes on certain items that are used to supply schools with teaching tools, books and other educational resources. The bill also helps students afford the cost of college tuition, as it reduces the amount of education-related property taxes that they must pay.
The law also requires the City’s agencies to notify employees and job applicants of student loan forgiveness programs available to those who work for the City. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection would prepare the notices and make them available to City agencies and their employees to provide to those who apply for jobs with them.
A law also ensures that building residents are able to protect themselves from water and security issues by requiring the City to notify them of any tests on their water quality that are conducted by those contracted by NYCHA to examine the water. The law, called Assembly Bill A7273, also makes sure those contracted to test the water are in compliance with all federal and state laws. It also requires buildings to give tenants 30-days notice before installing keyless security devices.