Bill Text: NY S02746 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for emergency evacuation plans for vulnerable occupants in all residential occupancies; requires designated safe spaces equipped with emergency medical supplies in buildings greater than 125 feet (38 100 mm) in height; provides for a voluntary registry to meet the special needs of occupants who require assistance during evacuations or other emergency situations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CITIES 1 [S02746 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S02746-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2746 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 24, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities 1 AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the executive law, in relation to providing emergency evacuation plans and safe spaces for vulnerable occupants, and providing for the establish- ment of a voluntary registry to meet the special needs of occupants who require assistance during evacuations or other emergency situ- ations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 403.4.8.4.2 of the New York city building code, as 2 amended by section 5 of part C of local law number 126 of the city of 3 New York for the year 2021, is amended to read as follows: 4 403.4.8.4.2 Emergency power loads in Group R-2 occupancies. Group R-2 5 occupancies in buildings greater than 125 feet (38 100 mm) in height 6 shall be required to provide an emergency power system to support the 7 following loads: 8 1. Exit signs and means of egress illumination required by Chapter 10; 9 2. Emergency voice communications systems, including Fire Department 10 in-building Auxiliary Radio Communication systems (ARCs); [and] 11 3. Electrically powered fire pumps, unless electrical power to the 12 motor is taken ahead of the main from the street side of the house 13 service switch[.]; 14 4. At least one elevator serving all floors, or one elevator per bank 15 where different banks serve different portions of the building; and 16 5. Electricity for dedicated safe spaces, pursuant to section 403.4.9. 17 § 2. The New York city building code is amended by adding a new 18 section 403.4.9 to read as follows: 19 403.4.9 Emergency medical supplies and safe spaces for occupants. All 20 residential occupancies in buildings greater than 125 feet (38 100 mm) 21 in height shall be required to designate safe spaces for vulnerable EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05626-01-3S. 2746 2 1 occupants, in the event of a power outage or emergency situation that 2 does not necessitate evacuation. Vulnerable occupants shall include 3 those occupants who are elderly, or chronically ill or disabled, includ- 4 ing those suffering from mental illness and those persons specified in 5 subdivision 2 of section 23-d of the executive law. Such safe spaces 6 shall be equipped with a range of medical supplies with a particular 7 focus on supplies used by occupants that require access to a power 8 source and supplies used by persons included in the registry established 9 pursuant to subdivision 2 of section 23-d of the executive law. 10 § 3. The New York city building code is amended by adding 4 new 11 sections 403.5.7, 403.5.7.1, 403.5.7.2, and 403.5.7.3 to read as 12 follows: 13 403.5.7 Emergency evacuation plans for vulnerable occupants. An emer- 14 gency evacuation plan for vulnerable occupants shall be prepared and 15 maintained for all residential occupancies. The term "vulnerable occu- 16 pants" shall include the following: 17 1. Occupants who are elderly, or chronically ill or disabled, includ- 18 ing those suffering from mental illness. 19 2. Any occupant who voluntarily submits his or her personal informa- 20 tion for inclusion in the registry established pursuant to subdivision 2 21 of section 23-d of the executive law. 22 The evacuation plan shall include special employee actions and proce- 23 dures necessary for such vulnerable occupants, and shall be amended or 24 revised upon the occupancy of an individual with unusual needs. 25 403.5.7.1 Evacuation plan posting sites. A copy of the evacuation plan 26 and a diagram depicting evacuation routes shall be given to vulnerable 27 occupants prior to initial occupancy. A diagram depicting evacuation 28 routes shall also be posted on or immediately adjacent to every door 29 opening into interior stair enclosures and immediately adjacent to occu- 30 pant evacuation elevators. 31 403.5.7.2 Employee training. Employees shall be periodically trained 32 in the actions and procedures to take in the event vulnerable occupants 33 require evacuation and shall be kept informed of their duties and 34 responsibilities under the plan. 35 403.5.7.3 Occupant training. Vulnerable occupants capable of assisting 36 in their own evacuation shall be trained in the proper actions to take 37 in the event of an evacuation. Vulnerable occupants shall also be 38 trained to assist each other in case of evacuation to the extent their 39 physical and mental abilities permit them to do so without additional 40 personal risk. In buildings using occupant evacuation elevators in 41 accordance with Section 3008, occupant training shall incorporate 42 specific procedures for the occupants using such elevators. 43 § 4. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 23-d to read 44 as follows: 45 § 23-d. Naturally occurring retirement community registry of elderly 46 or disabled persons; notice. 1. For the purposes of this section: 47 (a) "covered municipality" shall mean a county or city with a compre- 48 hensive emergency management plan pursuant to section twenty-three of 49 this article; 50 (b) "chief executive" shall mean the chief executive of a covered 51 municipality; 52 (c) "naturally occurring retirement community" shall have the same 53 meaning as in paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section two hundred 54 nine of the elder law and shall include neighborhood naturally occurring 55 retirement community as defined in paragraph (f) of subdivision one of 56 section two hundred nine of the elder law;S. 2746 3 1 (d) "registry" shall mean the list that is compiled by each covered 2 municipality of elderly or disabled persons located within a naturally 3 occurring retirement community as established under subdivision two of 4 this section; and 5 (e) "Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Database" or "NORCD" 6 shall mean the comprehensive list of every covered municipality registry 7 as established under subdivision eight of this section. 8 2. In each covered municipality, in order to meet the special needs of 9 persons who would need assistance during evacuations or other emergency 10 situations and sheltering because of physical or mental handicaps, or 11 whose ability to care for themselves during an emergency situation is 12 adversely affected by advanced age, or permanent or temporary medical 13 condition of the use of a medical device that requires electricity to 14 operate, each chief executive of such covered municipality shall main- 15 tain a registry of elderly or disabled persons located within a 16 naturally occurring retirement community who voluntarily submit his or 17 her information for inclusion in the registry. The registry shall iden- 18 tify those persons in need of assistance and plan for resource allo- 19 cation, including but not limited to medical devices and supplies to 20 meet those identified needs. To assist the chief executive in identify- 21 ing such persons, the covered municipality's department of health, or 22 such other department or agency as designated by the chief executive, 23 shall provide voluntary registration information to all residents of 24 areas determined to be naturally occurring retirement communities. The 25 registry shall be updated at least every six months. The registration 26 program shall give elderly or disabled persons the option of pre-author- 27 izing emergency response personnel to enter their homes during search 28 and rescue operations if necessary to ensure their safety and welfare 29 during disasters. 30 3. Upon the establishment of a registry as provided under subdivision 31 two of this section, the chief executive shall make such registry avail- 32 able to the appropriate city, county, state and federal agencies for 33 their use in delivering services in the event of a local or state disas- 34 ter. The chief executive shall at least every six months provide such 35 registry information to the New York state office of emergency manage- 36 ment, including all updates to such registry information, for placement 37 in the NORCD as established under subdivision eight of this section. The 38 chief executive may, at his or her discretion, use the registry informa- 39 tion for local disaster preparedness only in coordination with other 40 political subdivisions of the state. 41 4. Upon the establishment of a registry as provided under subdivision 42 two of this section, at least every six months, each chief executive 43 shall cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within 44 a covered municipality that contains a naturally occurring retirement 45 community, a notice of the availability of the voluntary registration 46 program. 47 5. All records, data, information, correspondence and communications 48 relating to the registration of elderly or disabled persons as provided 49 under subdivision two of this section are confidential, except that such 50 information shall be available to the chief executives of other covered 51 municipalities and the NORCD for local disaster preparedness only as the 52 chief executive of the covered municipality maintaining such registry 53 deems necessary. Provided, however, the individual file of a person 54 having registered with the registry of elderly or disabled persons shall 55 be made available to that person upon request.S. 2746 4 1 6. All community-based services providers, including but not limited 2 to home health care providers and the director of the naturally occur- 3 ring retirement community supportive service program pursuant to section 4 two hundred nine of the elder law, shall assist each chief executive by 5 collecting registration information for elderly or disabled persons as 6 part of program intake processes, establishing programs to increase the 7 awareness of the registration process, and educating clients about the 8 procedures that may be necessary for their safety during disasters. 9 7. A covered municipality shall not be liable for any claim based upon 10 the good faith exercise or performance or the good faith failure to 11 exercise or perform a function or duty on the part of any officer or 12 employee in carrying out a local disaster preparedness plan. 13 8. (a) The commission shall establish the NORCD and the commission 14 shall accept voluntary registrants directly as needed, at which time 15 such registration information collected shall be forwarded to the appro- 16 priate covered municipality for inclusion in the covered municipality's 17 registry. 18 (b) The NORCD shall be made accessible to all such appropriate state, 19 county and city emergency response personnel and organizations as may be 20 deemed appropriate by the commission in order to properly plan for 21 securing the needs, safety, and well-being of the registrants. This 22 shall include, but not be limited to, planning for evacuations, assess- 23 ing the need for individual evacuations during emergency situations that 24 may not require the evacuation of the general public, pre-positioning 25 equipment and supplies including alternatives to medical devices that 26 require electricity to operate, or such other measures as the commission 27 deems necessary to accomplish the objectives of this article. In addi- 28 tion, the NORCD shall be made accessible to all appropriate federal 29 emergency response organizations and personnel and shall be made avail- 30 able to such other voluntary relief organizations as the commission 31 deems necessary. 32 (c) All records, data, information, correspondence and communications 33 relating to the NORCD shall be confidential, except that such informa- 34 tion may be made available at the discretion of the commission in furth- 35 erance of the objectives of this article. The individual file of a 36 person having information in the NORCD shall be made available to that 37 person upon request. 38 (d) The commission shall not be liable for any claim based upon the 39 good faith exercise or performance or the good faith failure to exercise 40 or perform a function or duty on the part of any officer or employee in 41 the maintenance or usage of the NORCD. 42 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 43 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 44 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 45 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 46 completed on or before such effective date.
