Harckham Puts New Yorkers and SD40 Residents First in 2025 State Senate Session

Albany, NY – With a focus on putting New Yorkers and Senate District residents first in his public service work, New York State Senator Pete Harckham announced today that the recently concluded State Senate session was his most productive yet since taking office in 2019, with 83 of his bills passed in the Senate.

Harckham’s bills addressed a wide range of issues and concerns that residents and small business owners are facing, including fighting climate change while safeguarding our natural resources, public safety, support for first responders, family and child protections, assistance for local municipalities and substance use disorder.

“Because we are already being impacted statewide by climate change and threats to our fragile drinking water sources, many of my bills this year were focused on environmental protections and storm mitigation,” said Harckham. “I made sure to introduce legislation to help strengthen our communities as well. We are facing many different concerns, so remaining complacent is not an option. I am grateful to Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and my Senate colleagues for their support of my legislation, and look forward to the next legislative session in 2026.”

All told, Harckham passed the second-most bills by any senator in the State Senate this year. In 2024, he passed 67 bills in the Senate.

The year was capped by five vitally important bills getting passed, which were among the 24 bills that Harckham introduced as chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee:

• S.1464 enacts the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act to help deal with our plastic waste crisis
• S.3590 establishes the Office of Climate Resiliency to help municipalities and residents with storm mitigation projects
• S.5759A initiates a moratorium on the sale and use of biosolids to protect farmlands from toxic waste
• S.5983A prohibits the use of pesticides to local freshwater wetlands
• S.6976A establishes a statewide road salt reduction council to help protect drinking water sources 

Other key bills that Harckham had passed in the Senate look to protect and help residents in various ways:

• S.265 directs the state board to conduct a study on real property tax saturation and exempt properties
• S.776 allows medically fragile adults to remain in specialized nursing care facilities until age 36
• S.1848 notifies property owners of non-emergency utility work on their property
• S.1985A requires police officers to take temporary custody of firearms when responding to reports of family or domestic violence
• S.4042 enacts the “Traveling with Dignity Act” to help install adult changing tables in public restrooms
• S.5407A creates a peer-to-peer mental health support program for first responders
• S.5381B requires allergen labeling for prepackaged food

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

• S.759 extends provisions of his food donation and food scraps recycling program law
• S.764 amends the law overseeing the heat mitigation plan for correctional facilities
• S.776 allows medically fragile adults to remain in specialized nursing care facilities until age 36

Additionally, two of Harckham’s bills that have been passed and are ready to be signed, S.7852 and S.8011, deal with first responders and make permanent certain benefits for volunteer firefighters with heart and lung disabilities.

As the former chair of the Senate Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Committee, Harckham introduced five substance use disorder and behavioral health related bills in 2025, including S.4950, which ensures residents can receive treatment at addiction centers even if they cannot pay for the service, and S.4955A, a bill that safeguards treatment centers from punitive audits. Since 2019, Harckham has introduced 118 opioid crisis / substance use disorder related bills. 

Additionally, Harckham had passed 10 different bills to assist local municipalities within the 40th Senate District. Bills extending the hotel room occupancy tax in Briarcliff Manor (S.4895A) and Mount Kisco (S.7624) await the Governor’s signature.

“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. “The tremendous desire to help and work together to forge a better tomorrow for all New Yorkers that I have witnessed is truly inspiring.”