Bill Text: NY S00269 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to establishing an electronic monitoring program for children diagnosed with developmental disabilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S00269 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S00269-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           269

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

        AN ACT to amend the  mental  hygiene  law  and  the  executive  law,  in
          relation to establishing an electronic monitoring program for children
          diagnosed with developmental disabilities

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a  new  section
     2  13.44 to read as follows:
     3  § 13.44 Electronic  monitoring for children with developmental disabili-
     4            ties.
     5    1. For the purposes of this section the following terms shall have the
     6  following meanings:
     7    (a) "Eligible applicant" shall mean a designated parent,  grandparent,
     8  adult  sibling,  or  otherwise qualified person as defined under section
     9  33.16 of this chapter, of a child who has been diagnosed by a  physician
    10  as  an  individual with a developmental disability as defined by section
    11  1.03 of this chapter.
    12    (b) "Electronic monitoring device" shall mean any radio, global  posi-
    13  tioning  system, cellular device or any other satellite-based monitoring
    14  device that can provide continuous tracking of the  geographic  location
    15  of  children  and  an automated monitoring system that can be used by an
    16  appropriate law enforcement agency at the request of an eligible  appli-
    17  cant.
    18    2.  The  commissioner,  in  consultation  with the commissioner of the
    19  division of criminal  justice  services,  shall  establish  a  voluntary
    20  program  to  provide electronic monitoring devices to an eligible appli-
    21  cant for the purpose of being able to geographically locate a child upon
    22  circumstances where the child is lost, missing or otherwise unable to be
    23  accounted for.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00283-01-5
        S. 269                              2

     1    3. (a) Upon the request of an eligible applicant, the nonprofit organ-
     2  ization or local governmental unit shall issue such electronic  monitor-
     3  ing  device  in  accordance  with eligibility and documentation criteria
     4  established by the office for a fee to be determined by the  commission-
     5  er.  At  a  minimum,  such  eligibility and documentation criteria shall
     6  require the active involvement of the child  when  such  child  has  the
     7  capacity  to  make  an informed decision, for the purpose of determining
     8  the child's willingness to participate in the voluntary  program  estab-
     9  lished under this section.
    10    (b)  If  a  child is lost, missing or otherwise unable to be accounted
    11  for, an eligible applicant  may  coordinate  with  the  appropriate  law
    12  enforcement  agency  and  inform the agency of the location of the child
    13  using the electronic monitoring device and receiver.
    14    (c) All applicant information provided by the parent to the office  or
    15  the  division of criminal justice services shall remain confidential and
    16  not be divulged by the  office  or  the  division  of  criminal  justice
    17  services  except  in cases where the eligible applicant signs a separate
    18  consent form providing that any personally identifiable  information  on
    19  the  child  may only be released in the event that an eligible applicant
    20  seeks law enforcement action to find the location  of  a  child  who  is
    21  lost, missing or otherwise unable to be accounted for.
    22    4.  To  the  extent  practicable, the commissioner shall utilize local
    23  governmental units or nonprofit organizations  which  currently  provide
    24  electronic  monitoring  devices  for  the  purposes  of  being  able  to
    25  geographically track children who have an  developmental  disability  as
    26  defined in section 1.03 of this chapter.
    27    §  2.  Section  837  of  the  executive law is amended by adding a new
    28  subdivision 24 to read as follows:
    29    24. The division, in cooperation  with  the  office  for  people  with
    30  developmental   disabilities,   shall  provide  recommendations  to  law
    31  enforcement agencies regarding the risks associated  with  developmental
    32  disabilities  as  defined  in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law and
    33  appropriate response techniques concerning such disabilities.  Recommen-
    34  dations shall include information pertaining to the utilization of elec-
    35  tronic  monitoring  devices  to determine the location of children diag-
    36  nosed with developmental disabilities.
    37    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    38  it shall have become a law.