STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9511

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 16, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  MAGNARELLI  -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Transportation

        AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the  display
          of blue lights on the vehicles of mobile crisis response staff members

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

     1    Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by  adding  two  new
     2  sections 109-d and 109-e to read as follows:
     3    §  109-d.  Mobile  crisis  response services.   Services to provide an
     4  immediate and short-term emergency response to individuals who are in  a
     5  state of mental, emotional, physical and behavioral distress in order to
     6  prevent a critical incident.
     7    §  109-e. Mobile crisis response staff member. An individual who is an
     8  employee or a designated volunteer of a duly  authorized  mobile  crisis
     9  response team or other established crisis response service.
    10    § 2. Subparagraph a of paragraph 4 of subdivision 41 of section 375 of
    11  the  vehicle and traffic law, as amended by section 1 of part C of chap-
    12  ter 58 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
    13    a. One blue light may be affixed to  any  motor  vehicle  owned  by  a
    14  volunteer  member  of  a  fire department or by a mobile crisis response
    15  staff member or on a motor vehicle owned by a member  of  such  person's
    16  family  residing  in  the  same household or by a business enterprise in
    17  which such person has a proprietary interest or by which he  or  she  is
    18  employed,  provided such volunteer firefighter or mobile crisis response
    19  staff member has been authorized in writing to so affix a blue light  by
    20  the  chief  of  the  fire  department or company of which he or she is a
    21  member, or the administrator of a mobile crisis response  service  which
    22  authorization shall be subject to revocation at any time by the chief or
    23  administrator  who  issued  the  same or his or her successor in office.
    24  Such blue light may be displayed exclusively  by  such  volunteer  fire-
    25  fighter  or  mobile  crisis response staff member on such a vehicle only
    26  when engaged in an emergency operation. The use of blue lights on  vehi-
    27  cles  shall  be  restricted  for  use only by a volunteer firefighter or
    28  mobile crisis response staff member except as otherwise provided for  in
    29  subparagraphs b and b-1 of this paragraph.
    30    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14380-02-2