Bill Text: NY S06685 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides additional benefits for veterans; provides for services and counseling related to post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries; requires reports to the legislature concerning the number of veterans who are incarcerated.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-06-18 - SUBSTITUTED BY A2189A [S06685 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S06685-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         6685
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   February 27, 2014
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sens. ZELDIN, GRISANTI, MARTINS, MAZIARZ, RANZENHOFER --
         read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
         the Committee on Health
       AN  ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to providing certain
         benefits to veterans; and to amend the correction law, in relation  to
         requiring certain reports relating to veterans
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1.  Subdivision 1 of section 3803 of the public health law, as
    2  amended by chapter 743 of the laws  of  2006,  is  amended  to  read  as
    3  follows:
    4    1.  There  is hereby created within the department the veterans health
    5  care information program (referred to in this section as the "program"),
    6  which shall provide information on health issues associated  with  mili-
    7  tary  duty,  including  but  not  limited  to  Agent  Orange,  Gulf  War
    8  Syndromes, toxic materials or harmful physical agents such as,  depleted
    9  uranium, and hepatitis C, AND SPECIFIC MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES
   10  INCLUDING  POST-TRAUMATIC  STRESS  DISORDER,  TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND
   11  OTHER BRAIN-RELATED INJURIES, for veterans, their surviving spouses  and
   12  health care providers.
   13    S  2. Subdivision 1 of section 29 of the correction law, as amended by
   14  section 12 of subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011,  is
   15  amended and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows:
   16    1.  The  department  shall  continue to collect, maintain, and analyze
   17  statistical and other information  and  data  with  respect  to  persons
   18  subject to the jurisdiction of the department, including but not limited
   19  to: (a) the number of such persons: placed in the custody of the depart-
   20  ment,  assigned  to  a  specific  department program, accorded community
   21  supervision and declared delinquent, recommitted to a state correctional
   22  institution upon revocation of community supervision, or discharged upon
   23  maximum expiration  of  sentence;  (b)  the  criminal  history  of  such
   24  persons;  (c)  the  social, educational, and vocational circumstances of
   25  any such persons; [and,] (d) the institutional and community supervision
   26  programs and the behavior of such persons; AND, (E) THE  MILITARY  BACK-
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD06299-03-4
       S. 6685                             2
    1  GROUND  AND  CIRCUMSTANCES,  IF  SUCH PERSON SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES
    2  ARMED FORCES.  Provided, however, in the event any statistical  informa-
    3  tion on the ethnic background of the inmate population of a correctional
    4  facility  or facilities is collected by the department, such statistical
    5  information shall contain, but not be limited to, the  following  ethnic
    6  categories:  (i)  Caucasian;  (ii)  Asian;  (iii)  American Indian; (iv)
    7  Afro-American/Black; and (v) Spanish  speaking/Hispanic  which  category
    8  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited  to,  the following subcategories
    9  consisting of: (1) Puerto Ricans; (2) Cubans; (3)  Dominicans;  and  (4)
   10  other Hispanic nationalities.
   11    5.  THE  COMMISSIONER SHALL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE NUMBER OF
   12  INMATES WHO ARE CURRENTLY SERVING SENTENCES IN STATE CORRECTIONAL FACIL-
   13  ITIES AND ANY LOCAL CORRECTIONAL  FACILITIES  WHO  HAVE  SERVED  IN  THE
   14  UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. SUCH REPORT SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMIT-
   15  ED  TO  THE FOLLOWING: A BREAKDOWN OF THE NUMBER OF INMATES BY BRANCH OF
   16  SERVICE, TIME PERIOD OF MILITARY SERVICE AND THE TYPE OF  DISCHARGE  THE
   17  INMATE  RECEIVED UPON SEPARATION FROM THE MILITARY. SUCH REPORT SHALL BE
   18  DONE ANNUALLY.
   19    S 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
   20  it shall have become a law; provided, that  any  rules  and  regulations
   21  necessary  for  the  timely  implementation of this act on its effective
   22  date shall be promulgated on or before such date.