After a long final week, the regularly scheduled 2022 Legislative Session concluded, with the Senate finishing their work at 2:30 A.M. Friday June 3rd, and the Assembly finishing just before 8:20 A.M. on Saturday June 4th. During the entire 2022 Legislative Session, 1,007 bills passed both Houses, which is the most to have passed both Houses during a Legislative Session in the last 25 years.
Gun Legislation
In the final week of Session, the Legislature passed several major pieces of legislation, including a package of 10 bills tightening New York’s gun laws through measures such as:
- requiring microstamping of new semiautomatic pistols
- prohibiting the sale of body armor to regular citizens
- raising the age to buy and possess semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21
- expanding the list of people who can file Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO, often called “red flag” orders)
- requiring law enforcement to file ERPOs under specified circumstances
- eliminating the grandfathering of high-capacity ammunition feeding devices, and
- requiring social media companies to improve their response and reporting of hateful content.
The Governor signed this package of bills into law Monday, June 6th.
Other Major Legislation
The Legislature also passed several other headline-grabbing bills in the final days of its regular session, including
- the New York Voting Rights Act
- the Freelance Isn’t Free Act
- a bill that would create the NYCHA Preservation Trust
- a two-year extension of mayor control of schools in New York City, and
- a bill strengthening legal protections for abortion service providers and woman seeking abortions
Many Big Bills Not Passed
Although several major bills passed in the final week, other major bills failed to pass both Houses, including the Clean Slate Act, which again stalled in the Assembly. The Legislature also failed to pass a constitutional amendment that would enshrine civil rights protections based on sex, gender orientation or expression, disability, and other protected categories, as well as enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion. Other bills that did not pass both Houses this year include the:
- Elder Parole Bill
- Good Cause Eviction
- New York Health Act
- Build Public Renewables Act
- the Fair and Timely Parole Act, and
- a bill to reinstate the 421-a real estate tax exemption, which expired earlier this year
Now that the 2022 Legislative Session has concluded, all bills that have passed both Houses await delivery to the Governor’s office to either be signed or vetoed.