Bill Text: NY S00329 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires legislative approval for the closure of certain office of mental health, office for people with developmental disabilities or office of children and family services facilities and institutions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-14 - RECOMMIT, ENACTING CLAUSE STRICKEN [S00329 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S00329-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           329
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  AKSHAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop-
          mental Disabilities
        AN ACT to amend the  mental  hygiene  law  and  the  executive  law,  in
          relation  to requiring legislative approval for the closure of certain
          office of mental health, office for people with developmental disabil-
          ities or office of children and family services facilities and  insti-
          tutions
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision (e) of section 7.17 of the mental hygiene  law,
     2  as amended by chapter 723 of the laws of 1993, paragraph 1 as amended by
     3  chapter 170 of the laws of 1994, paragraph 3 as amended by chapter 83 of
     4  the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
     5    (e)  In  the  event  that  the  plan for state and local mental health
     6  services, developed in accordance with subdivision (b) of this  section,
     7  determines  that  significant  service  reductions are anticipated for a
     8  particular state-operated hospital or its catchment area, or a state-op-
     9  erated research institute, the commissioner  shall  take  the  following
    10  actions[,  provided nothing in this subdivision shall create a basis for
    11  enjoining any otherwise lawful service reductions]:
    12    1. submit a written report to the legislature at least  three  hundred
    13  sixty-five  days  prior to the date the office is seeking closure of any
    14  facility or institution. Such report shall include justification for the
    15  proposed closure. The legislature may require any additional information
    16  or data that it deems necessary in such report. If the  legislature,  or
    17  the  appropriate committees thereof, upon review of the report submitted
    18  to it by the office, finds that the proposed closure  is  not  justified
    19  then  closure  shall not occur until approved by a majority vote of each
    20  house of the legislature.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05180-01-9

        S. 329                              2
     1    2. confer with the department of civil service, the governor's  office
     2  of  employee  relations and any other state agency to develop strategies
     3  which attempt to minimize the impact on the state workforce by providing
     4  assistance in obtaining state employment  in  state-operated  community-
     5  based services or other employment opportunities, and to develop strate-
     6  gies  for  the  development  of  necessary  retraining  and redeployment
     7  programs. In planning such strategies, the  commissioner  shall  provide
     8  for  the  participation  of  the  representatives  of the employee labor
     9  organizations and for the participation of managerial  and  confidential
    10  employees to ensure continuity of employment;
    11    [2.]  3.  consult  with the department of economic development and any
    12  other appropriate state agencies to develop strategies which attempt  to
    13  minimize  the impact of such significant service reductions on the local
    14  and regional economies;
    15    [3.] 4. provide for a mechanism which may reasonably  be  expected  to
    16  provide  notice  to local governments, community organizations, employee
    17  labor organizations, managerial and confidential employees, consumer and
    18  advocacy groups of the potential for significant service  reductions  at
    19  such  state-operated hospitals and state-operated research institutes at
    20  least  twelve  months  prior  to  commencing  such  service   reduction,
    21  provided,  however, that this requirement shall be deemed satisfied with
    22  respect to reductions  at  Central  Islip  Psychiatric  Center,  Gowanda
    23  Psychiatric Center, Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center, Kings Park Psychi-
    24  atric  Center,  Willard  Psychiatric  Center  and  Manhattan  Children's
    25  Psychiatric Center; and
    26    [4.] 5. consult with the office of  general  services  and  any  other
    27  appropriate  state  agency  in  developing  a  mechanism for determining
    28  alternative uses for land and buildings to be vacated by the  office  of
    29  mental  health.    Such  a  mechanism  should  include a review of other
    30  programs or state agencies that could feasibly expand  their  operations
    31  onto  a  state-operated  hospital campus and are compatible with health,
    32  safety and programmatic needs of patients served in such facilities.
    33    § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new  section  13.18
    34  to read as follows:
    35  § 13.18 Closure of facilities.
    36    The  commissioner  shall submit a written report to the legislature at
    37  least three hundred sixty-five days prior to  the  date  the  office  is
    38  seeking  closure  of  any  facility  or  institution.  Such report shall
    39  include justification for the  proposed  closure.  The  legislature  may
    40  require  any  additional  information or data that it deems necessary in
    41  such report.  If the legislature, or the appropriate committees thereof,
    42  upon review of the report submitted to it by the office, finds that  the
    43  proposed  closure  is  not  justified then closure shall not occur until
    44  approved by a majority vote of each house of the legislature.
    45    § 3. Subdivision 15 of section 501 of the executive law, as amended by
    46  section 1 of part H of chapter 58 of the laws of  2006,  is  amended  to
    47  read as follows:
    48    15.  In  the  event  that  the  office of children and family services
    49  determines that significant service reductions, public employee staffing
    50  reductions and/or the transfer of operations to a  private  or  not-for-
    51  profit  entity  are  anticipated  in  the  office of children and family
    52  services long term planning process or for a particular  facility  in  a
    53  future year, to take the following actions:
    54    (a)  submit a written report to the legislature at least three hundred
    55  sixty-five days prior to the date the  office  of  children  and  family
    56  services  is  seeking  closure of any secure or limited secure facility.

        S. 329                              3
     1  Such report shall include justification for the  proposed  closure.  The
     2  legislature may require any additional information or data that it deems
     3  necessary in such report. If the legislature, or the appropriate commit-
     4  tees thereof, upon review of the report submitted to it by the office of
     5  children  and  family  services,  finds that the proposed closure is not
     6  justified then closure shall not occur until approved by a majority vote
     7  of each house of the legislature.
     8    (b) confer with the department of civil service, the governor's office
     9  of employee relations and any other state agency to  develop  strategies
    10  which attempt to minimize the impact on the state workforce by providing
    11  assistance  in  obtaining  state employment in state-operated community-
    12  based services or other employment opportunities, and to develop strate-
    13  gies for  the  development  of  necessary  retraining  and  redeployment
    14  programs. In planning such strategies, the commissioner of the office of
    15  children  and family services shall provide for the participation of the
    16  representatives of the employee labor organizations and for the  partic-
    17  ipation of managerial and confidential employees to ensure continuity of
    18  employment;
    19    [(b)]  (c) consult with the department of economic development and any
    20  other appropriate state agencies to develop strategies which attempt  to
    21  minimize  the  impact  of  such  significant  service reductions, public
    22  employee staffing reductions and/or the  transfer  of  operations  to  a
    23  private or not-for-profit entity on the local and regional economies;
    24    [(c)]  (d) provide for a mechanism which may reasonably be expected to
    25  provide notice to local governments, community  organizations,  employee
    26  labor organizations, managerial and confidential employees, consumer and
    27  advocacy  groups  of  the  potential for significant service reductions,
    28  public employee staffing reductions and/or the transfer of operations to
    29  a private or not-for-profit entity at such state-operated facilities, at
    30  least twelve months prior to commencing such service reduction; and
    31    [(d)] (e) consult with the office of general services  and  any  other
    32  appropriate  state  agency  in  developing  a  mechanism for determining
    33  alternative uses for land and buildings to be vacated by the  office  of
    34  children  and  family services. Such a mechanism should include a review
    35  of other programs or state agencies that  could  feasibly  expand  their
    36  operations  onto a state-operated campus and are compatible with health,
    37  safety and programmatic needs of persons served in such facilities.
    38    § 4. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
    39  of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction  to
    40  be  invalid,  such  judgment  shall not affect, impair or invalidate the
    41  remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
    42  sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly  involved  in  the
    43  controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
    44    §  5.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    45  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
    46  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
    47  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
    48  on or before such effective date.
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