Bill Text: NY S09246 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires boards of visitors provide greater transparency to the public regarding such boards' activities including when it meets and providing materials to the public.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2024-11-22 - SIGNED CHAP.524 [S09246 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09246-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9246

                    IN SENATE

                                       May 7, 2024
                                       ___________

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

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring  boards
          of  visitors provide greater transparency to the public regarding such
          boards' activities

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

     1    Section  1.  Subdivisions  (d),  (f)  and  (j) of section 13.33 of the
     2  mental hygiene law, as amended by section 4 of part J of chapter  56  of
     3  the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
     4    (d) Each board shall, at the first meeting of each calendar year elect
     5  one member to serve as president of the board and one member to serve as
     6  secretary;  provided however, that no member may serve for more than two
     7  consecutive years as president.  After such election  of  the  president
     8  and  secretary, each board shall inform the governor, the speaker of the
     9  assembly and the temporary president of the senate of such new president
    10  and secretary.
    11    (f) (1) Each board of visitors shall hold six bi-monthly regular meet-
    12  ings annually, but a greater number of regular meetings may be scheduled
    13  by the board. Each board of visitors shall establish in their by-laws or
    14  otherwise, in writing and at the first meeting of  each  calendar  year,
    15  whether  these  six  meetings shall be held during months represented by
    16  odd numbers or months represented by even numbers. The president of  the
    17  board  shall  notify  [the chairman of the commission on quality of care
    18  and advocacy for persons with disabilities] the  executive  director  of
    19  the  justice  center for the protection of people with special needs and
    20  the [state operations director] commissioner of the  determination  made
    21  concerning  the  designated  months for the six bi-monthly regular meet-
    22  ings.   The dates of such meetings  shall  be  posted  on  the  office's
    23  website  and shall be made available to the public. The president of the
    24  board, the commissioner, [the director,] or the members as determined by
    25  the rules of the board may call special meetings. The board may [require
    26  the director] request the commissioner, or such commissioner's designee,
    27  to submit a report at each meeting. Each board shall keep  a  record  of

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15169-01-4
        S. 9246                             2

     1  its  proceedings and activities. A member of a board of visitors who has
     2  failed to attend three consecutive bi-monthly regular meetings shall  be
     3  considered  to  have vacated [his] such member's office unless otherwise
     4  ordered  by  the  governor.  The  board shall cause notice of any of its
     5  public meetings to be sent to the mental hygiene legal  service  located
     6  in  the  same  judicial  department  as the state operations office. The
     7  mental hygiene legal service may  send  a  representative  to  any  such
     8  public  meeting,  and may request the board to review patient complaints
     9  or investigate alleged incidents of abuse  or  mistreatment.  The  board
    10  shall  notify the appropriate representative of the mental hygiene legal
    11  service of the board's actions and findings  in  relation  to  any  such
    12  request.  Meeting minutes, agendas, proceedings, activities, by-laws and
    13  actions  by each board shall be posted on the office's website and shall
    14  be made available to the public.
    15    (2) The president of the board of visitors shall notify  a  member  by
    16  certified  or  registered mail return receipt requested when such member
    17  of the board has failed to attend any two consecutive bi-monthly regular
    18  meetings. This notice shall be sent within ten days following the second
    19  meeting and shall include the dates  of  the  two  meetings  which  were
    20  missed, the date of the next bi-monthly regular meeting, and a statement
    21  concerning the consequences of failure to attend the next meeting.
    22    (3)  Within  three  days  after  the  third  consecutive  absence at a
    23  bi-monthly regular meeting by a member, the president of  the  board  of
    24  visitors  shall  notify, in writing, the governor, the commissioner, the
    25  [chairman of the commission on quality of care and advocacy for  persons
    26  with  disabilities]  executive  director  of  the justice center for the
    27  protection of people with special needs, the temporary president of  the
    28  senate  and  the  [state operations director] speaker of the assembly of
    29  such absences.  The president of the board of visitors shall send a copy
    30  of this notice by registered or certified mail return receipt  requested
    31  to  the member to whom it pertains. The member may petition the governor
    32  to excuse [his] such member's absences. If the governor does not  excuse
    33  the absences within forty-five days of the date of the third consecutive
    34  meeting absence, the office of the member shall be deemed vacated.
    35    (j) Once each year, each board shall make an independent assessment of
    36  conditions  at  such facilities and shall submit a report on the assess-
    37  ment and recommendations to the governor, to the  commissioner,  to  the
    38  temporary president of the senate, to the speaker of the assembly and to
    39  the  [chairman  of  the state commission on quality of care and advocacy
    40  for persons with disabilities] executive director of the justice  center
    41  for the protection of people with special needs.
    42    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    43  it shall have become a law.