Bill Text: NY S04780 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires mandatory reporting of certain convictions, professional misconduct and/or employment termination in any jurisdiction; defines terms; requires all licensees to report to the education department any conviction of a crime in any jurisdiction within thirty days after the entry of a judgment of conviction; authorizes the department officer to issue a summary suspension order under certain circumstances; authorizes the district attorney to give written notice to the department of education upon the conviction of a felony or misdemeanor of any person holding a license pursuant to title eight of the education law; makes related provisions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-16 - PRINT NUMBER 4780A [S04780 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S04780-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4780--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 11, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. STAVISKY, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Higher Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to mandatory reporting of certain convictions, professional misconduct and/or employment termi- nation in any jurisdiction; and to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to notice to the education department The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 6501 of the education law, as amended by chapter 2 299 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 6501. Admission to a profession (licensing). 1. Admission to prac- 4 tice of a profession in this state is accomplished by a license being 5 issued to a qualified applicant by the [education] department. To quali- 6 fy for a license an applicant shall meet the requirements prescribed in 7 the article for the particular profession and shall meet the require- 8 ments prescribed in section 3-503 of the general obligations law. 9 2. Mandatory reporting of convictions, professional misconduct and/or 10 employment termination in any jurisdiction. 11 a. For purposes of this subdivision: 12 (1) "Employment termination" means termination of a licensee's employ- 13 ment, privileges or contract, by or on behalf of a hospital, institu- 14 tion, or employer, for determined or admitted professional misconduct as 15 defined in this article, which is directly related to the professional 16 duties for which the licensee was licensed and/or a voluntary or invol- 17 untary resignation to avoid such termination. 18 (2) "Crime" means a misdemeanor or felony under: 19 (i) New York state law; 20 (ii) federal law; or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07641-02-2S. 4780--A 2 1 (iii) the law of another jurisdiction and which, if committed within 2 this state, would have constituted a crime under New York state law. 3 (3) "Criminal history record" means a record of all convictions of 4 crimes and any pending criminal charges maintained on an individual by 5 the division of criminal justice and the federal bureau of investi- 6 gation. 7 (4) "Entry of a judgment of conviction" means the date on which 8 sentence, including but not limited to imprisonment, a term of 9 probation, or a fine, was imposed or, if no such sentence was imposed, 10 the date the judgment of conviction was entered in the court in which 11 the case was determined. 12 (5) "Licensee" shall mean a person registered, certified, or licensed 13 under this title. However, this definition shall not apply to discipli- 14 nary proceedings in relation to the profession of medicine, physician's 15 assistants, and specialist assistants, who are under the jurisdiction of 16 the office of professional medical conduct pursuant to the provisions of 17 title II-A of article two of the public health law. 18 b. (1) All licensees under this title shall be required to report to 19 the department any conviction of a crime in any jurisdiction within 20 thirty days after the entry of a judgment of conviction. 21 (2) All licensees under this title shall be required to report to the 22 department any determination of professional misconduct in any jurisdic- 23 tion within thirty days after notification of such determination of 24 professional misconduct was received by such individual. 25 (3) All licensees under this title shall be required to report to the 26 department any employment termination in any jurisdiction within thirty 27 days after notification of such termination was received by such indi- 28 vidual. 29 (4) The department shall provide licensees with notice of the report- 30 ing requirements and procedures for the reporting described in this 31 subdivision by prominently posting said requirements on the department's 32 website and including information regarding said requirements conspicu- 33 ously on the application for licensure form and each registration 34 renewal form. 35 (5) Failure of a licensee to submit a report to the department within 36 such thirty day period may be grounds for professional misconduct pursu- 37 ant to section sixty-five hundred of this subarticle. 38 (6) The reporting requirements of this subdivision shall only apply to 39 convictions, professional misconduct and employment terminations that 40 occur on or after the effective date of this subdivision. 41 (7) A licensee shall submit a report to the department pursuant to 42 this subdivision on a form prescribed by the commissioner. Such form 43 shall be made publicly available on the department's website. 44 c. All reports submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be consid- 45 ered part of the investigatory file and confidential pursuant to subdi- 46 vision eight of section sixty-five hundred ten of this article. 47 d. Upon receipt of a report from a licensee that the licensee has been 48 convicted of a crime, or is the subject of a determination of profes- 49 sional misconduct or employment termination, the department may refer 50 the report to the professional conduct officer for an investigation and 51 potential disciplinary action pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten 52 of this article. 53 e. In the event that a licensee is convicted of a crime, the district 54 attorney shall provide notice thereof to the commissioner pursuant to 55 section 440.55 of the criminal procedure law. Upon receipt of a report 56 from a district attorney that a licensee has been convicted of a crime,S. 4780--A 3 1 the department may refer the report to the professional conduct officer 2 for an investigation and potential disciplinary action pursuant to 3 section sixty-five hundred ten of this article. 4 f. Upon notification that a licensee has been convicted of a crime 5 under this section, the department may request a criminal history record 6 from the division of criminal justice services, and the division of 7 criminal justice services shall forward such criminal history record to 8 the department in a timely manner. The consideration of a criminal 9 history record by the department shall be in a manner consistent with 10 article twenty-three-A of the correction law. 11 3. a. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any appli- 12 cant seeking to qualify for a license pursuant to this title who is the 13 spouse of an active duty member of the armed forces of the United 14 States, national guard or reserves as defined in 10 U.S.C. sections 1209 15 and 1211, and such spouse is transferred by the military to this state 16 shall be afforded an expedited review of his or her application for 17 licensure. Such application shall be on a form prescribed by the depart- 18 ment and shall include an attestation by the applicant of the military 19 status of his or her spouse and any other such supporting documentation 20 that the department may require. Upon review of such application, the 21 department shall issue a license to the applicant if the applicant holds 22 a license in good standing in another state and in the opinion of the 23 department, the requirements for licensure of such other state are 24 substantially equivalent to the requirements for licensure in this 25 state. 26 b. In addition to the expedited review granted in paragraph a of this 27 subdivision, an applicant who provides satisfactory documentation that 28 he or she holds a license in good standing from another state, may 29 request the issuance of a temporary practice permit, which, if granted 30 will permit the applicant to work under the supervision of a New York 31 state licensee in accordance with regulations of the commissioner. The 32 department may grant such temporary practice permit when it appears 33 based on the application and supporting documentation received that the 34 applicant will meet the requirements for licensure in this state because 35 he or she holds a license in good standing from another state with 36 significantly comparable licensure requirements to those of this state, 37 except the department has not been able to secure direct source verifi- 38 cation of the applicant's underlying credentials (e.g., receipt of 39 original transcript, experience verification). Such permit shall be 40 valid for six months or until ten days after notification that the 41 applicant does not meet the qualifications for licensure. An additional 42 six months may be granted upon a determination by the department that 43 the applicant is expected to qualify for the full license upon receipt 44 of the remaining direct source verification documents requested by the 45 department in such time period and that the delay in providing the 46 necessary documentation for full licensure was due to extenuating 47 circumstances which the military spouse could not avoid. 48 c. A temporary practice permit issued under paragraph b of this subdi- 49 vision shall be subject to the full disciplinary and regulatory authori- 50 ty of the board of regents and the department, pursuant to this title, 51 as if such authorization were a professional license issued under this 52 article. 53 d. The department shall reduce the initial licensure application fee 54 by one-half for any application submitted by a military spouse under 55 this subdivision.S. 4780--A 4 1 § 2. Subdivision 5 of section 8004 of the education law, as added by 2 chapter 635 of the laws of 1991, is amended and a new subdivision 6 is 3 added to read as follows: 4 5. Be at least eighteen years of age[.]; and 5 6. Be of good moral character as determined by the department. 6 § 3. Subdivisions 5 and 6 of section 8355 of the education law, as 7 added by chapter 798 of the laws of 1992, are amended to read as 8 follows: 9 5. Age: be at least twenty-one years of age; [and] 10 6. Character: be of good moral character as determined by the depart- 11 ment; and 12 7. Fees: pay a fee for an initial certificate of one hundred dollars 13 to the department; and a fee of fifty dollars for each triennial regis- 14 tration period. 15 § 4. Subdivision 6 of section 8705 of the education law is renumbered 16 subdivision 7 and a new subdivision 6 is added to read as follows: 17 6. Character: be of good moral character as determined by the depart- 18 ment; and 19 § 5. Section 6510 of the education law is amended by adding a new 20 subdivision 10 to read as follows: 21 10. Summary suspension and preliminary hearing. 22 a. For the purposes of this subdivision only: 23 (1) "Date of service" means the date on which the licensee or regis- 24 tered entity receives a document from the department by registered or 25 certified mail or by personal service. 26 (2) "Department officer" shall mean the commissioner or the deputy 27 commissioner for the professions, or their designee. 28 (3) "Licensee" and "registered entity" shall include a professional 29 license, certificate, registration, permit or other authorization of the 30 licensee or registered entity to practice pursuant to this article. 31 (4) "Designated regent" shall mean a member of the board of regents 32 who has been designated by the chancellor of the board of regents. 33 b. Notice of summary suspension order and preliminary hearing. 34 (1) Whenever the department officer determines after an investigation 35 and a recommendation by the professional conduct officer that based upon 36 a determination that a licensee or registered entity is causing, engag- 37 ing in or maintaining a condition or activity which in the department 38 officer's opinion constitutes an imminent danger to the health, safety 39 or welfare of the public and that it therefore appears to be prejudicial 40 to the interests of the people to delay action until an opportunity for 41 a hearing can be provided in accordance with the provisions of this 42 section, the department officer, by written notice, may order the licen- 43 see or registered entity to discontinue such dangerous condition or 44 activity or take certain action immediately and for a period of ninety 45 days from the date of service of the order, suspending such licensee or 46 registered entity's privileges to practice such profession pursuant to 47 this title in the state of New York. Notwithstanding any other 48 provision of law to the contrary, the department shall make such summary 49 suspension order available to the licensee or registered entity and 50 shall indicate such summary suspension on the department's website on 51 the verification of licenses page. 52 (2) Service of the summary suspension order upon the licensee or 53 registered entity shall include a statement of the charges, including 54 the facts and circumstances that are alleged to justify the summary 55 suspension order and a notice of preliminary hearing, which shall be 56 held solely for the purpose of determining whether the summary suspen-S. 4780--A 5 1 sion order should be continued, modified, or discontinued due to immi- 2 nent danger to the health, safety or welfare of the public until the 3 completion of the final disciplinary proceeding pursuant to subdivision 4 three of this section or whether such summary suspension order previous- 5 ly issued should be lifted immediately. The summary suspension order, 6 statement of charges and notice of preliminary hearing shall be sent to 7 the licensee or registered entity by registered or certified mail or be 8 personally served. 9 (3) The notice of preliminary hearing shall specify that the purpose 10 of the hearing is to determine whether the summary suspension order 11 should be continued, modified, or discontinued due to imminent danger to 12 the health, safety or welfare of the public until the completion of the 13 final disciplinary proceeding under subdivision three of this section or 14 whether such summary suspension order previously issued should be lifted 15 immediately. The notice of preliminary hearing shall also set forth: 16 (i) the time and place of the preliminary hearing, which, unless 17 otherwise requested or consented to by the licensee or registered enti- 18 ty, shall be held in the regional office of the department in closest 19 proximity to the events alleged in the statement of charges provided, 20 however, that where it is not possible to conduct such hearing in such 21 office within the timeframe required by this subdivision, then: (A) such 22 hearing may be conducted in a regional office in close proximity to such 23 events to the greatest extent practicable; or (B) participants who are 24 unable to physically appear at the location in closest proximity in the 25 timeframes required may participate in such hearing via videoconference 26 technology with the consent of all parties, except that the respondent 27 and/or his or her attorney cannot refuse the use of videoconference 28 technology to hold such a hearing if videoconferencing is the only means 29 by which the hearing can be safely held due to a declared state of emer- 30 gency or similar risk to the health or safety of the public; 31 (ii) that the licensee or registered entity may file a written 32 response to the statement of charges and accompanying evidence prior to 33 the hearing and in response to any recommendation made by the designated 34 regent within seven days of receiving such charges or recommendation; 35 (iii) that the licensee or registered entity may appear personally at 36 the hearing and may be represented by counsel; 37 (iv) that both parties may present oral arguments, but no testimony 38 shall be taken, and no witnesses shall be called; 39 (v) that a stenographic record of the hearing shall be made and be 40 made promptly available to the licensee or registered entity without 41 charge; and 42 (vi) such other information as may be considered appropriate by the 43 department. 44 (4) The department officer may at any time, before a final determi- 45 nation is made under this subdivision, vacate such summary suspension 46 order pursuant to this subdivision if the public health, safety or 47 welfare no longer imperatively requires emergency action against a 48 professional license, certificate, registration, permit or other author- 49 ization of the licensee or registered entity to practice under this 50 title. 51 c. Order proceedings. 52 (1) A preliminary hearing shall be scheduled to commence no less than 53 ten nor more than forty-five days after the date of service of the 54 notice of preliminary hearing and summary suspension order, if any, and 55 statement of charges, unless additional time is requested or consented 56 to by the licensee or registered entity. The preliminary hearing shallS. 4780--A 6 1 be completed within sixty days of the date of service of the notice of 2 hearing and summary suspension order. The department shall establish a 3 hearing schedule to ensure that such preliminary hearing is completed 4 within the required timeframes. The designated regent, upon request, may 5 grant a limited and time specific adjournment to the department that 6 would extend the preliminary hearing beyond the sixty days if the desig- 7 nated regent determines that the delay is attributable to a circumstance 8 or occurrence substantially beyond the control of the department and an 9 injustice would result if the adjournment were not granted. The licensee 10 or registered entity may request an adjournment at any time, and such 11 requests that are reasonable shall be granted. If an adjournment is 12 granted, it shall extend the initial ninety-day period of summary 13 suspension issued pursuant to this subdivision by an equal number of 14 days. 15 (2) Such preliminary hearing shall consist of oral arguments on the 16 continuation, modification or discontinuance of the summary suspension 17 order. Such preliminary hearing shall be conducted by the designated 18 regent. 19 (3) The department officer shall designate an administrative officer, 20 admitted to practice as an attorney in the state of New York, who shall 21 have the authority to rule on all motions, procedures and other legal 22 objections and shall draft a report at the direction of the designated 23 regent. The administrative officer shall not be entitled to a vote, and 24 such administrative officer's report shall reflect the views of the 25 designated regent. 26 (4) The evidence in support of the charges shall be presented by an 27 attorney for the department. The licensee or registered entity shall 28 have the rights stated in the notice of hearing. The designated regent 29 shall not be bound by the rules of evidence. 30 (5) The designated regent shall review the evidence and the oral argu- 31 ments and determine, whether the department has shown, by a preponder- 32 ance of the evidence, that the public health, safety or welfare impera- 33 tively requires emergency action against the licensee or registered 34 entity to practice under this title and whether the summary suspension 35 order should be continued or modified. 36 d. Final determination on summary suspension. 37 (1) The designated regent shall have seven days from the completion of 38 the preliminary hearing to issue a written recommendation as to whether 39 a summary suspension order concerning such licensee or registered entity 40 shall be continued or modified until completion of the final discipli- 41 nary proceeding under subdivision three of this section or whether any 42 such summary suspension order previously imposed shall be lifted imme- 43 diately. Such designated regent shall promptly forward such recommenda- 44 tion to the full board of regents. A copy of such recommendation shall 45 promptly be forwarded to the licensee or registered entity, as the case 46 may be, providing notice of the date on which such recommendation will 47 be considered by the board of regents. 48 (2) At its next regularly scheduled meeting, or at a special meeting, 49 the board of regents shall consider the transcript of the preliminary 50 hearing and the recommendation of the designated regent, as well as any 51 response from the licensee or registered entity, and make a final deter- 52 mination as to whether a summary suspension order shall be continued or 53 modified until completion of a final disciplinary proceeding can be held 54 pursuant to subdivision three of this section or whether any summary 55 suspension order previously imposed shall be lifted immediately.S. 4780--A 7 1 § 6. Subdivision 5 of section 6510 of the education law, as amended by 2 chapter 866 of the laws of 1980, is amended to read as follows: 3 5. Court review procedures. [The] A summary suspension order issued 4 by the department officer pursuant to subdivision ten of this section 5 and the decisions of the board of regents may be reviewed pursuant to 6 the proceedings under article seventy-eight of the civil practice law 7 and rules. Such proceedings shall be returnable before the appellate 8 division of the third judicial department, and such decisions shall not 9 be stayed or enjoined except upon application to such appellate division 10 after notice to the department and to the attorney general and upon a 11 showing that the petitioner has a substantial likelihood of success. 12 § 7. Section 440.55 of the criminal procedure law, as added by chapter 13 134 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows: 14 § 440.55 Notice to education department where a licensed professional 15 has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. 16 The district attorney shall give written notification to the depart- 17 ment of education upon the conviction of a felony or misdemeanor of any 18 person holding a license pursuant to title eight of the education law. 19 In addition, the district attorney shall give written notification to 20 the department upon the vacatur or reversal of any felony or misdemeanor 21 conviction of any such person. 22 § 8. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 23 it shall have become a law.
