Bill Text: NY A02389 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Establishes the New York state service corps; relates to the New York state service corps - health services track.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to labor [A02389 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A02389-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2389

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 19, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. NIOU -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Labor

        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing the New  York
          state service corps; to amend the parks, recreation and historic pres-
          ervation  law  and  the public health law, in relation to the New York
          state service corps - health services track; and to repeal  title  2-B
          of  article 2 of the public health law, relating to the New York state
          health service corps

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

     1    Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 44 to read
     2  as follows:
     3    §  44.  New York state service corps. 1. There is hereby created a New
     4  York state service corps, administered by the New York state  department
     5  of  labor  in conjunction and coordination with the department of parks,
     6  recreation and historic preservation and the department of health.
     7    2. The New York state service corps  shall  provide  service  opportu-
     8  nities  for interested applicants, including youth, young unemployed men
     9  and women, recent high school, college, and post-secondary graduates, as
    10  well as recent retirees and individuals who have recently  completed  or
    11  are  pursuing  a  high  school  equivalency examination or program. Such
    12  service opportunities shall include, but not be limited to, (i) residen-
    13  tial and non-residential corps opportunities;  (ii)  one-  and  two-year
    14  fellowship   programs;  (iii)  internship  opportunities  for  currently
    15  enrolled students; (iv) programs authorized under any other  section  of
    16  law  including  but  not limited to New York state service corps - green
    17  jobs, conservation, and revitalization tracks and New York state service
    18  corps - health services track.
    19    3. All fellowship  and  internship  opportunities  maintained  by  the
    20  commission under this section shall be educational in nature, focused on
    21  providing  unique  opportunities  to  youth, young adults, graduates and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04775-01-1

        A. 2389                             2

     1  retirees, and shall not wholly replace work currently performed  by  any
     2  civil service title.
     3    4.  Applicants  for  any  fellowship  or internship under this section
     4  shall be placed in opportunities that are deemed most likely to  further
     5  an  applicant's  stated educational and professional interests, in order
     6  to provide the maximum educational value possible.
     7    5. The department shall maintain and  operate  a  unified  application
     8  process  for service corps opportunities and shall work with appropriate
     9  agencies and, as appropriate, the New York state commission on  national
    10  and community service to develop and administer service corps programs.
    11    §  2.  The section heading and subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 3.23 of
    12  the parks, recreation and historic preservation law, as amended by chap-
    13  ter 128 of the laws of 1987, paragraph (a) of subdivision 3  as  amended
    14  by chapter 717 of the laws of 1988, are amended to read as follows:
    15    New  York  state  [conservation] service corps - green jobs, conserva-
    16  tion, and revitalization tracks.  1. [A] The New York  state  [conserva-
    17  tion corps] service corps - green jobs, conservation, and revitalization
    18  tracks (hereafter referred to as the "corps") within the office is here-
    19  by established for the following purposes:
    20    a. To protect air, fish, forest, land, water and wildlife;
    21    b.  To  help  maintain  and improve botanical gardens, historic sites,
    22  libraries, museums, parks, parkways, refuges,  trails,  zoos  and  other
    23  recreational, artistic or cultural investments;
    24    c. To aid agricultural, fishing, forestry and tourist industries;
    25    d.  To  provide  jobs  and  job  training for young unemployed men and
    26  women, especially from disadvantaged  backgrounds,  as  well  as  recent
    27  graduates  of  high  school, high school equivalency, college, and post-
    28  secondary programs, to act as a stepladder to permanent employment;
    29    e. To foster co-operation among civilian and governmental agencies  in
    30  order to educate the public about state resources;
    31    f. To reinforce the "I Love New York" campaign;
    32    g.  To  take  advantage  of  the  capital investment in facilities and
    33  equipment already in place from the programs of youth  and  young  adult
    34  and civilian conservation corps paid for by federal dollars;
    35    h.  To  educate  the  participants  about  our natural environment and
    36  cultural heritage, teach first  aid  and  disaster  procedures,  and  to
    37  otherwise encourage them to further their education; and
    38    i.  To  do such other projects which provide disaster relief, increase
    39  energy conservation, promote green jobs, improve fire prevention,  beau-
    40  tify  highways,  control  insects  and  rodents,  upgrade  public lands,
    41  promote resiliency against harm from  changes  in  weather  patterns  or
    42  general climate change, enhance art and cultural resources, and revital-
    43  ize [urban areas] cities, towns, and villages.
    44    3. The corps shall consist of the following components:
    45    a. Summer: for youth enrollees, aged fourteen--[eighteen] twenty-four;
    46    b. Seasonal: for unemployed young adult enrollees, aged sixteen--twen-
    47  ty-four;
    48    c.  Non-residential:  for young adult enrollees, aged sixteen--twenty-
    49  four;
    50    d. Residential: for young adult enrollees, aged eighteen--twenty-five;
    51    e. Volunteer: for interested persons of any age who are members of  an
    52  organized group which has proper leadership and insurance;
    53    f. Crew Leader: for young adults, aged eighteen and over;
    54    g.  Staff:  for adults, aged twenty-one and up, who are needed for the
    55  few positions enrollees or crew leaders cannot fill; [and]

        A. 2389                             3

     1    h. Director: for adults, aged twenty-five and up, who are in charge of
     2  local or state  projects,  residential  camps,  or  overall  program  of
     3  corps[.]; and
     4    i.  Fellow: for young adult enrollees, who will receive an educational
     5  and professional benefit from the experience provided any program  oper-
     6  ated  under  this  section,  and who shall work for a set-term of one or
     7  two-years as determined by the office.
     8    § 3. Title 2-B of article 2 of the public health law is REPEALED and a
     9  new title 2-B is added to read as follows:
    10                                  Title 2-B
    11            NEW YORK STATE SERVICE CORPS - HEALTH SERVICES TRACK
    12  Section 231. New York state service corps - health services track.
    13          232. Powers and duties.
    14    § 231. New York state service corps - health services  track.  1.  The
    15  commissioner  shall  establish  within the department the New York state
    16  service corps - health services track (hereinafter "corps"). The commis-
    17  sioner shall, in conjunction with the department of labor and, as appro-
    18  priate, the New York state commission on national and community service,
    19  have central responsibility for administering  the  provisions  of  this
    20  title  with respect to increasing the availability of health services in
    21  certain eligible facilities and institutions.
    22    2. For purposes of this title: (a) "health corps professional" means a
    23  nurse, physician's assistant, dental hygienist, occupational  therapist,
    24  speech-language  pathologist,  audiologist, physical therapist, midwife,
    25  other health professional other than a  physician  or  dentist,  or  any
    26  other  professional  with  demonstrated  proficiency  in early childhood
    27  health or development who is determined by the commissioner, in  consul-
    28  tation  with  the  commissioners  of  education,  correctional services,
    29  mental health, persons with  developmental  disabilities,  secretary  of
    30  state, and the president of the civil service commission, to possess the
    31  skills  and  training  appropriate to the needs of eligible institutions
    32  and facilities;
    33    (b) "eligible institutions and facilities" means: (i) facilities oper-
    34  ated by the department of correctional services, office of mental health
    35  and office of persons with developmental disabilities;  (ii)  non-profit
    36  agencies  possessing  operating  certificates  issued  by  the office of
    37  mental health or office for persons with developmental  disabilities  or
    38  under  contract  with  the  commission  for the blind and visually hand-
    39  icapped; (iii) not-for-profit diagnostic and treatment centers  licensed
    40  under  article twenty-eight of this chapter which have a critical short-
    41  age of health personnel, as determined by  the  commissioner  and  which
    42  serve  the medically indigent and Medicaid eligible persons; (iv) health
    43  care facilities operated by the department, provided that  at  any  time
    44  the  total  number of placements in such facilities shall not exceed ten
    45  percent of the total number of placements under this section; (v) in the
    46  case of midwives, not-for-profit facilities licensed under article twen-
    47  ty-eight of this chapter which serve the medically indigent and Medicaid
    48  eligible women; and (vi)  an  education  program  operated  pursuant  to
    49  section thirty-six hundred two-ee of the education law.
    50    §  232.  Powers  and duties.   The commissioner shall, in consultation
    51  with the  commissioners  of  education,  correctional  services,  mental
    52  health, persons with developmental disabilities, secretary of state, and
    53  the president of the civil service commission, have the following powers
    54  and duties:
    55    1.  to  recruit  and  select health corps professionals for service in
    56  eligible institutions and facilities;

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     1    2. to place health corps professionals in  eligible  institutions  and
     2  facilities  pursuant  to agreements with the appropriate eligible insti-
     3  tutions and facilities;
     4    3.  to  develop criteria for the selection of applicants for placement
     5  under this program including, but not limited to, the student's academic
     6  achievement, previous work experience in their chosen health  profession
     7  and  a  demonstrated  interest  in  working with institutionalized popu-
     8  lations, communities with serious health needs including but not limited
     9  to populations with high rates of chronic illness or Medicaid  eligibil-
    10  ity, and children under the age of five.
    11    4. to accept and expend any grants, awards or other funds or appropri-
    12  ations  as  may  be  available  to effectuate the purposes of this title
    13  subject to the limitations as to the approval of expenditures and  audit
    14  as prescribed for state funds by the state finance law; and
    15    5.  to  do  any  and all other things necessary to carry out its func-
    16  tions, powers and duties and to effectuate the purposes of this title.
    17    § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    18  it shall have become a law.
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