Bill Text: NY S04208 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Directs the commissioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities to deny employment or volunteer applications based on a criminal history report for such applicant.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH [S04208 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04208-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4208

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 6, 2023
                                       ___________

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

        AN ACT to amend the  mental  hygiene  law  and  the  executive  law,  in
          relation  to  directing the commissioner of developmental disabilities
          to promulgate regulations authorizing the  denial  or  disapproval  of
          certain  employment  or  volunteer  applications  following a criminal
          history report for such applicant

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

     1    Section  1.    Section  13.19  of the mental hygiene law is amended by
     2  adding a new subdivision (e) to read as follows:
     3    (e) The commissioner shall  promulgate  regulations  (i)  requiring  a
     4  criminal history report for any prospective employee or volunteer in the
     5  office  who will have regular direct patient contact; and (ii) authoriz-
     6  ing the denial or disapproval  of  any  application  for  employment  or
     7  volunteer  service  in  the office for a position that will have regular
     8  direct patient contact where a criminal history report  concerning  such
     9  prospective  employee  or volunteer reveals a conviction for any offense
    10  the commissioner determines would  make  such  prospective  employee  or
    11  volunteer unfit for employment by the office.
    12    §  2.  Subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law, as amended
    13  by chapter 561 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
    14    8-a. Charge a fee when, pursuant to statute or the regulations of  the
    15  division,  it  conducts  a  search  of  its criminal history records and
    16  returns a report thereon in connection with an application  for  employ-
    17  ment  or for a license or permit. The division shall adopt and may, from
    18  time to time, amend a schedule of such fees which shall  be  in  amounts
    19  determined  by  the  division  to  be  reasonably related to the cost of
    20  conducting such searches and returning reports thereon but, in no event,
    21  shall  any  such  fee  exceed  twenty-five  dollars  and  an  additional
    22  surcharge  of  fifty  dollars.  The  comptroller is hereby authorized to

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08506-01-3

        S. 4208                             2

     1  deposit such fees into the general fund,  provided,  however,  that  the
     2  monies received by the division of criminal justice services for payment
     3  of  the  additional surcharge shall be deposited in equal amounts to the
     4  general  fund  and  to  the  fingerprint  identification  and technology
     5  account. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the division shall  not  request
     6  or  accept  any  fee  for searching its records and supplying a criminal
     7  history report pursuant to section two hundred fifty-one-b of the gener-
     8  al business law relating to participating in flight instruction  at  any
     9  aeronautical  facility, flight school or institution of higher learning,
    10  nor for searching its records and supplying a  criminal  history  report
    11  pursuant  to  regulations  adopted  under  section  13.19  of the mental
    12  hygiene law.
    13    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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