Bill Text: NY A02189 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Provides additional benefits for veterans; provides for services and counseling related to post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries; requires reports to the legislature concerning the number of veterans who are incarcerated.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-8)

Status: (Vetoed) 2014-11-21 - tabled [A02189 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-A02189-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        2189--A
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 9, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of A. LAVINE, LUPARDO, RUSSELL, SCHIMEL, SIMANOWITZ,
         JAFFEE, SKARTADOS, BROOK-KRASNY, BARRETT,  SCARBOROUGH,  COOK,  CLARK,
         BARRON, MOYA, GIBSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CRESPO, CROUCH,
         CYMBROWITZ,  DUPREY,  FAHY,  JOHNS,  KEARNS,  MALLIOTAKIS,  McDONOUGH,
         McKEVITT, MONTESANO, RAIA -- read once and referred to  the  Committee
         on  Veterans'  Affairs  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
         reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
       AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to providing  certain
         benefits  to veterans; and to amend the correction law, in relation to
         requiring certain reports relating to veterans
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1.  Subdivision 1 of section 3803 of the public health law, as
    2  amended  by  chapter  743  of  the  laws  of 2006, is amended to read as
    3  follows:
    4    1. There is hereby created within the department the  veterans  health
    5  care information program (referred to in this section as the "program"),
    6  which  shall  provide information on health issues associated with mili-
    7  tary  duty,  including  but  not  limited  to  Agent  Orange,  Gulf  War
    8  Syndromes,  toxic materials or harmful physical agents such as, depleted
    9  uranium, and hepatitis C, AND SPECIFIC MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES
   10  INCLUDING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER,  TRAUMATIC  BRAIN  INJURY  AND
   11  OTHER  BRAIN-RELATED INJURIES, for veterans, their surviving spouses and
   12  health care providers.
   13    S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 29 of the correction law, as amended  by
   14  section  12 of subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is
   15  amended and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows:
   16    1. The department shall continue to  collect,  maintain,  and  analyze
   17  statistical  and  other  information  and  data  with respect to persons
   18  subject to the jurisdiction of the department, including but not limited
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD06299-02-3
       A. 2189--A                          2
    1  to: (a) the number of such persons: placed in the custody of the depart-
    2  ment, assigned to a  specific  department  program,  accorded  community
    3  supervision and declared delinquent, recommitted to a state correctional
    4  institution upon revocation of community supervision, or discharged upon
    5  maximum  expiration  of  sentence;  (b)  the  criminal  history  of such
    6  persons; (c) the social, educational, and  vocational  circumstances  of
    7  any such persons; [and,] (d) the institutional and community supervision
    8  programs  and  the behavior of such persons; AND, (E) THE MILITARY BACK-
    9  GROUND AND CIRCUMSTANCES, IF SUCH PERSON SERVED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES
   10  ARMED  FORCES.  Provided, however, in the event any statistical informa-
   11  tion on the ethnic background of the inmate population of a correctional
   12  facility or facilities is collected by the department, such  statistical
   13  information  shall  contain, but not be limited to, the following ethnic
   14  categories: (i) Caucasian;  (ii)  Asian;  (iii)  American  Indian;  (iv)
   15  Afro-American/Black;  and  (v)  Spanish speaking/Hispanic which category
   16  shall include, but  not  be  limited  to,  the  following  subcategories
   17  consisting  of:  (1)  Puerto Ricans; (2) Cubans; (3) Dominicans; and (4)
   18  other Hispanic nationalities.
   19    5. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE  NUMBER  OF
   20  INMATES WHO ARE CURRENTLY SERVING SENTENCES IN STATE CORRECTIONAL FACIL-
   21  ITIES  AND  ANY  LOCAL  CORRECTIONAL  FACILITIES  WHO HAVE SERVED IN THE
   22  UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. SUCH REPORT SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMIT-
   23  ED TO THE FOLLOWING: A BREAKDOWN OF THE NUMBER OF INMATES BY  BRANCH  OF
   24  SERVICE,  TIME  PERIOD OF MILITARY SERVICE AND THE TYPE OF DISCHARGE THE
   25  INMATE RECEIVED UPON SEPARATION FROM THE MILITARY. SUCH REPORT SHALL  BE
   26  DONE ANNUALLY.
   27    S 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
   28  it  shall  have  become  a law; provided, that any rules and regulations
   29  necessary for the timely implementation of this  act  on  its  effective
   30  date shall be promulgated on or before such date.