Bill Text: NY S01788 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Creates a veterans' mental health and suicide prevention task force to examine, evaluate and determine how to improve mental health and suicide prevention for our veterans.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-5)
Status: (Passed) 2021-12-22 - APPROVAL MEMO.130 [S01788 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S01788-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1788--A Cal. No. 216 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 15, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SANDERS, ADDABBO, BROOKS, GAUGHRAN, GOUNARDES, HELM- ING, JACKSON, JORDAN, KAPLAN, LANZA, LIU, MYRIE, PARKER, RITCHIE, SAVINO, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Mili- tary Affairs -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading AN ACT to create a veterans' suicide prevention temporary task force; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration there- of The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature is concerned with the 2 health, safety, and welfare of all returning veterans of the United 3 States armed forces to New York and the high rate of mental health prob- 4 lems and suicides of members of the United States armed forces. 5 § 2. Veterans' suicide prevention temporary task force. (a) There is 6 hereby created the veterans' temporary suicide prevention task force to 7 examine, evaluate and determine how to improve mental health and suicide 8 prevention for our veterans, consisting of nine members, each to serve 9 until May first, two thousand twenty-three. 10 (b)(1) Such members shall be appointed as follows: three members shall 11 be appointed by the governor; two members shall be appointed by the 12 temporary president of the senate; one member shall be appointed by the 13 minority leader of the senate; two members shall be appointed by the 14 speaker of the assembly; and one member shall be appointed by the minor- 15 ity leader of the assembly. Appointments shall be made within sixty days 16 of the effective date of this act. Vacancies in the temporary task force 17 shall be filled in the manner provided for original appointments. 18 (2) All appointees shall have expertise in fields or disciplines 19 related to mental health and at least three members shall have worked EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04863-05-1S. 1788--A 2 1 with members of the military or veterans community on a professional 2 basis. All appointments shall be coordinated to ensure geographic repre- 3 sentation from the entire state. 4 (3) The temporary task force shall be chaired by the governor's 5 appointee. The temporary task force shall elect a vice-chair and other 6 necessary officers from among all appointed members. 7 (4) A majority of the members of the temporary task force then in 8 office shall constitute a quorum. 9 (5) The temporary task force shall meet at least quarterly at the call 10 of the chair. Meetings may be held via teleconference. Special meetings 11 may be called by the chair at the request of a majority of the members 12 of the task force. 13 (6) Members of the temporary task force shall receive no compensation 14 for their services but shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses 15 incurred in the performance of their duties in the work of the task 16 force. 17 (c) The temporary task force shall: 18 (1) study current mental health practices and suicide prevention 19 efforts of those individuals who have served on active military duty; 20 (2) recommend mental health practices and suicide prevention efforts 21 to increase effectiveness across the state for those individuals who 22 have served on active military duty; 23 (3) determine potential reasons for the number of veterans who have 24 committed suicide and how this may be addressed by the state of New 25 York; 26 (4) determine what role post traumatic stress disorder and military 27 sexual trauma may have contributed to the number of veterans suicides in 28 the state of New York; 29 (d) work with the New York state suicide prevention task force and the 30 New York state suicide prevention council; and 31 (e) make a preliminary report to the governor and the legislature of 32 its findings, conclusions, recommendations and activities already under- 33 taken by the temporary task force, not later than June 1, 2023, and a 34 final report of its findings, conclusions, recommendations and activ- 35 ities already undertaken by the temporary task force, not later than 36 June 30, 2024 and shall submit with its reports legislative proposals as 37 it deems necessary to implement its recommendations. 38 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 39 have become a law and shall expire August 31, 2024 when upon such date 40 the provisions of this act shall be deemed to be repealed.
