Bill Text: NY A10384 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

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: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-06 - substituted by s9246 [A10384 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A10384-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10384

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 21, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced   by   COMMITTEE  ON  RULES  --  (at  request  of  M.  of  A.
          Bichotte Hermelyn) -- read once  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on
          People with 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,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15169-01-4
        A. 10384                            2

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