Bill Text: NY S03430 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires public officers and public bodies to make proactive efforts to provide qualified interpreters at no charge for the hearing impaired at public meetings and hearings upon written request to the public officer responsible for the siting of such hearing; requires installation and use of assistive listening devices.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-25 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE [S03430 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S03430-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         3430--B
            Cal. No. 395

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 29, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. COMRIE, GIANARIS -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Ethics and Inter-
          nal Governance -- 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
          --  again  amended  and  ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the
          order of third reading

        AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to the  accessibil-
          ity of public hearings and meetings

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

     1    Section 1. Section 74-a of the public officers law, as added by  chap-
     2  ter 368 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 74-a. Duty of public officers regarding [the physically handicapped]
     4  accessibility.  1. It shall be the duty of each public officer responsi-
     5  ble  for the scheduling or siting of any public hearing to make [reason-
     6  able] proactive efforts to ensure (a) that such  hearings  are  held  in
     7  facilities  that  permit  barrier-free physical access to the physically
     8  handicapped, as defined in subdivision five  of  section  fifty  of  the
     9  public  buildings  law; and (b) that services of a qualified interpreter
    10  are provided at such public hearings at no charge  to  persons  who  are
    11  deaf  or  hard  of  hearing  upon  written request to the public officer
    12  responsible for the scheduling or siting of the public hearing within  a
    13  reasonable  time  prior  to  such  hearing.  If interpreter services are
    14  requested, the public officer responsible for the scheduling  or  siting
    15  of  the  public  hearing shall engage the services of a qualified inter-
    16  preter, to interpret the  proceeding  to,  and  the  testimony  of  such
    17  persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
    18    2. (a) Such public officers shall have the power and it shall be their
    19  individual duty to equip any rooms used for public hearings which accom-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03709-05-1
        S. 3430--B                          2

     1  modate  more than one hundred persons with an assistive listening system
     2  for use by the deaf or hard of hearing;
     3    (b)  For  purposes  of this subdivision, the term "assistive listening
     4  system" shall mean situational-personal acoustic communication equipment
     5  designed to improve the transmission and auditory  reception  of  sound.
     6  Such  system  shall  include  but  not be limited to the use of standard
     7  amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation  (FM),  audio  induction
     8  loop,  infrared  light  sound,  hard  wire  systems including those that
     9  provide closed captions, open captions  known  as  CART,  American  sign
    10  language, Black American sign language, deafblind interpretation includ-
    11  ing  but  not  limited  to using protactile as well as braille and large
    12  print services.
    13    § 2. Subdivision (d) of section 103 of the  public  officers  law,  as
    14  added  by  chapter 40 of the laws of 2010, is relettered subdivision (g)
    15  and two new subdivisions (h) and (i) are added to read as follows:
    16    (h) Public bodies shall make or cause to be made all proactive efforts
    17  to ensure that services of a qualified interpreter are provided at meet-
    18  ings at no charge to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing upon  writ-
    19  ten  request  to  the public body within a reasonable time prior to such
    20  meeting. If interpreter services are requested, the  public  body  shall
    21  engage  the  services  of  a  qualified  interpreter  to  interpret  the
    22  proceedings of the meeting;
    23    (i) (1) Public bodies shall have the  power  and  it  shall  be  their
    24  collective  duty  to equip meeting rooms which accommodate more than one
    25  hundred persons with an assistive listening system for use by  the  deaf
    26  or hard of hearing;
    27    (2)  For  purposes  of  this  section,  the  term "assistive listening
    28  system" shall mean situational-personal acoustic communication equipment
    29  designed to improve the transmission and auditory  reception  of  sound.
    30  Such  system  shall  include  but  not be limited to the use of standard
    31  amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation  (FM),  audio  induction
    32  loop,  infrared  light  sound  hard  wire  systems  including those that
    33  provide closed captions, open captions  known  as  CART,  American  sign
    34  language, Black American sign language, deafblind interpretation includ-
    35  ing  but  not  limited  to using protactile as well as braille and large
    36  print services.
    37    § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023.