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

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2189
                              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,  JOHNS, KEARNS, MALLIOTAKIS, McDONOUGH, McKEVITT,
         MONTESANO, RAIA -- read once and referred to the Committee  on  Veter-
         ans' Affairs
       AN ACT to amend the executive law and 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. Section 353 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
    2  subdivision 21 to read as follows:
    3    21. TO DEVELOP, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL  HEALTH,
    4  A PROGRAM FOR THE IDENTIFICATION, DIAGNOSIS, COUNSELING AND TREATMENT OF
    5  VETERANS WHO SUFFER FROM POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, TRAUMATIC BRAIN
    6  INJURY  AND  OTHER  BRAIN-RELATED INJURIES.   SUCH PROGRAM SHALL INCLUDE
    7  PROCEDURES FOR IDENTIFYING VETERANS WHO MAY NEED ASSISTANCE AND INFORMA-
    8  TION AND OUTREACH TO MAKE  VETERANS  AWARE  OF  AVAILABLE  PROGRAMS  AND
    9  SERVICES.
   10    S  2.  Subdivision  1  of  section  3803  of the public health law, as
   11  amended by chapter 743 of the laws  of  2006,  is  amended  to  read  as
   12  follows:
   13    1.  There  is hereby created within the department the veterans health
   14  care information program (referred to in this section as the "program"),
   15  which shall provide information on health issues associated  with  mili-
   16  tary  duty,  including  but  not  limited  to  Agent  Orange,  Gulf  War
   17  Syndromes, toxic materials or harmful physical agents such as,  depleted
   18  uranium, and hepatitis C, AND SPECIFIC MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES
   19  INCLUDING  POST-TRAUMATIC  STRESS  DISORDER,  TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD06299-01-3
       A. 2189                             2
    1  OTHER BRAIN-RELATED INJURIES, for veterans, their surviving spouses  and
    2  health care providers.
    3    S  3. Subdivision 1 of section 29 of the correction law, as amended by
    4  section 12 of subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011,  is
    5  amended and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows:
    6    1.  The  department  shall  continue to collect, maintain, and analyze
    7  statistical and other information  and  data  with  respect  to  persons
    8  subject to the jurisdiction of the department, including but not limited
    9  to: (a) the number of such persons: placed in the custody of the depart-
   10  ment,  assigned  to  a  specific  department program, accorded community
   11  supervision and declared delinquent, recommitted to a state correctional
   12  institution upon revocation of community supervision, or discharged upon
   13  maximum expiration  of  sentence;  (b)  the  criminal  history  of  such
   14  persons;  (c)  the  social, educational, and vocational circumstances of
   15  any such persons; [and,] (d) the institutional and community supervision
   16  programs and the behavior of such persons; AND, (E) THE  MILITARY  BACK-
   17  GROUND  AND  CIRCUMSTANCES,  IF  SUCH PERSON SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES
   18  ARMED FORCES.  Provided, however, in the event any statistical  informa-
   19  tion on the ethnic background of the inmate population of a correctional
   20  facility  or facilities is collected by the department, such statistical
   21  information shall contain, but not be limited to, the  following  ethnic
   22  categories:  (i)  Caucasian;  (ii)  Asian;  (iii)  American Indian; (iv)
   23  Afro-American/Black; and (v) Spanish  speaking/Hispanic  which  category
   24  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited  to,  the following subcategories
   25  consisting of: (1) Puerto Ricans; (2) Cubans; (3)  Dominicans;  and  (4)
   26  other Hispanic nationalities.
   27    5.  THE  COMMISSIONER SHALL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE NUMBER OF
   28  INMATES WHO ARE CURRENTLY SERVING SENTENCES IN STATE CORRECTIONAL FACIL-
   29  ITIES AND ANY LOCAL CORRECTIONAL  FACILITIES  WHO  HAVE  SERVED  IN  THE
   30  UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. SUCH REPORT SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMIT-
   31  ED  TO  THE FOLLOWING: A BREAKDOWN OF THE NUMBER OF INMATES BY BRANCH OF
   32  SERVICE, TIME PERIOD OF MILITARY SERVICE AND THE TYPE OF  DISCHARGE  THE
   33  INMATE  RECEIVED UPON SEPARATION FROM THE MILITARY. SUCH REPORT SHALL BE
   34  DONE ANNUALLY.
   35    S 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
   36  it shall have become a law; provided, that  any  rules  and  regulations
   37  necessary  for  the  timely  implementation of this act on its effective
   38  date shall be promulgated on or before such date.