Bill Text: NY S03035 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires counties to maintain a registry of people of all ages with disabilities for the purpose of evacuating and sheltering such persons during disasters.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS [S03035 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S03035-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3035

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 27, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
          ty and Military Affairs

        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring counties  to
          maintain a registry of people of all ages with disabilities for evacu-
          ation and sheltering during disasters

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

     1    Section 1. Section 23-a of the executive law, as added by chapter  658
     2  of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  23-a. County registry of [disabled persons] people of all ages with
     4  disabilities, as that term  is  defined  in  subdivision  twenty-one  of
     5  section  two  hundred  ninety-two  of this chapter; notice.  1.  In each
     6  county having a local disaster preparedness  plan  pursuant  to  section
     7  twenty-three  of  this  article,  in  order to meet the special needs of
     8  persons of all ages with disabilities who would need  assistance  during
     9  evacuations  and  sheltering  because  of physical or mental [handicaps]
    10  disabilities, it [is recommended] shall  be  required  that  each  chief
    11  executive  maintain  a registry of [disabled persons] people of all ages
    12  with disabilities located within the county.   People of all  ages  with
    13  disabilities  shall be given the option not to be included in the regis-
    14  try. The registration shall identify those persons in need of assistance
    15  and plan for resource allocation to meet those  identified  needs.    To
    16  assist  the  chief  executive  in  identifying  such persons, the county
    17  department of health, the county  department  of  social  services,  the
    18  county  department  of mental health, or such other county department or
    19  agency as designated by the chief executive, shall  provide  [voluntary]
    20  registration  information  to  all of its [special needs] clients of all
    21  ages with disabilities and to all incoming clients as part of the intake
    22  process.   The registry shall be updated  annually.    The  registration
    23  program shall give [disabled persons] such people of all ages with disa-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07331-01-1
        S. 3035                             2

     1  bilities  the  option of pre-authorizing emergency response personnel to
     2  enter their homes during search and rescue operations  if  necessary  to
     3  assure their safety and welfare during disasters.
     4    2.  Upon  the  establishment  of  a  [voluntary] registry of [disabled
     5  persons] people of all ages with disabilities as provided in subdivision
     6  one of this section, the chief executive shall make such registry avail-
     7  able to the appropriate county, state and federal agencies for their use
     8  in delivering services in the event of a local or  state  disaster.  The
     9  chief  executive shall[, upon the request of the state emergency manage-
    10  ment office,] provide such registry  information  to  [such]  the  state
    11  emergency management office. The chief executive may, at his discretion,
    12  use  the  registry  information  for local disaster preparedness only in
    13  coordination with other political subdivisions of the state.
    14    3.   Upon the establishment of a  [voluntary]  registry  of  [disabled
    15  persons] people of all ages with disabilities as provided in subdivision
    16  one  of this section, at least semi-annually, each chief executive shall
    17  cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation  within  the
    18  county  a  notice  of  the  availability of the [voluntary] registration
    19  program.
    20    4. All records, data, information, correspondence  and  communications
    21  relating  to  the  registration of [disabled persons] people of all ages
    22  with disabilities as provided in subdivision one  of  this  section  are
    23  confidential,  except  that such information shall be available to other
    24  county chief executives for local  disaster  preparedness  only  as  the
    25  chief executive of the county maintaining such registry deems necessary.
    26  Provided,  however,  the  individual  file of a person having registered
    27  with the registry of [disabled persons] people of all ages with disabil-
    28  ities shall be made available to that person upon request.
    29    5. All community-based services providers, including home health  care
    30  providers,  shall  assist the chief executive by collecting registration
    31  information for people with special needs  as  part  of  program  intake
    32  processes, establishing programs to increase the awareness of the regis-
    33  tration  process, and educating clients about the procedures that may be
    34  necessary for their safety during disasters.
    35    6. A county shall not be liable for any claim based upon  the  reason-
    36  able,  good  faith exercise or performance or the reasonable, good faith
    37  failure to exercise or perform a function or duty on  the  part  of  any
    38  officer or employee in carrying out a local disaster preparedness plan.
    39    §  2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    40  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.