Bill Text: NY S09124 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Establishes the "one city act" which applies to cities with a population of one million or more and provides for an agency to disclose the personal information of individuals that would otherwise be restricted from disclosure to another agency or agent thereof for the limited purpose of providing benefits, services, or care coordination to individuals or a research study concerning the provision of benefits, services or care coordination.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-07 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S09124 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09124-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9124

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 29, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities 1

        AN  ACT  to  amend the general municipal law, in relation to interagency
          data sharing by agencies of a city with a population of one million or
          more for providing benefits, services or care coordination

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

     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "one city act".
     3    § 2. The general municipal law is amended  by  adding  a  new  section
     4  139-e to read as follows:
     5    §  139-e.  Data  sharing  by  agencies  within  a local government for
     6  providing benefits, services or  care  coordination.  1.  Applicability.
     7  This section shall apply to cities having a population of one million or
     8  more.
     9    2.  Legislative  intent. The legislature hereby finds, determines, and
    10  declares that the effective delivery  of  benefits,  services  and  care
    11  coordination  by  a  local  government  to  its populace may be improved
    12  through cooperative data-sharing arrangements that enable  its  agencies
    13  to  act, in effect, as a single coordinated entity, "one city", for such
    14  purposes. The delivery of benefits, services and care coordination often
    15  either requires or is buttressed by the sharing of the personal informa-
    16  tion collected from individuals or households by  one  local  government
    17  agency with other local government agencies, particularly where the same
    18  individual  or  household is known to multiple local government agencies
    19  or faces  complex  challenges  requiring  cross-agency  coordination  to
    20  effectively address a pressing need for government services, such as but
    21  not  limited  to food, shelter, mental health services, public benefits,
    22  and health care. The legislature recognizes the importance  of  ensuring
    23  robust protections for safeguarding the privacy of the personal informa-
    24  tion  that  individuals  have  entrusted to their local government while
    25  also enabling its agencies to responsibly share  such  information  with
    26  each  other  in order to effectively deliver benefits, services and care
    27  coordination to its populace. State authority for cooperative data-shar-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14914-01-4

        S. 9124                             2

     1  ing arrangements that enable agencies of a local government  to  coordi-
     2  nate  their  activities  is necessary in certain instances where laws of
     3  the state of New York impose restrictions  on  the  disclosure  of  such
     4  personal information between local government agencies. Such cooperative
     5  data-sharing  arrangements  can be developed and implemented with appro-
     6  priate safeguards and protocols  for  protecting  personal  privacy  and
     7  cybersecurity.
     8    3. Definitions. As used in this section:
     9    (a)  "Agency"  means  an office, position, administration, department,
    10  division, bureau, board or commission, or a corporation, institution  or
    11  agency of government, the expenses of which are paid in whole or in part
    12  from the city treasury.
    13    (b) "Agent" means an authorized person who acts on behalf of or at the
    14  direction of an agency.
    15    (c)  "Benefits" means assistance and resources that a local government
    16  provides to individuals in order to meet basic needs, such  as  but  not
    17  limited  to  food,  shelter,  financial  security, education, and health
    18  care, and other types of assistance or resources that may  help  improve
    19  an individual's quality of life.
    20    (d) "Care coordination" means coordination or case management of bene-
    21  fits and services.
    22    (e) "Human services agency" means an agency that delivers a service to
    23  individuals  or  groups  of  individuals for the purpose of improving or
    24  enhancing such individuals' health or welfare in circumstances including
    25  but not limited to: domestic violence, teenage pregnancy,  health  prob-
    26  lems,  child abuse, nutritional deficiencies, suicide, hunger, unemploy-
    27  ment, lack of suitable shelter, crime, drug and alcohol abuse and pover-
    28  ty.
    29    (f) "Personal information" means information collected  by  an  agency
    30  concerning  an individual that, because of name, number, symbol, mark or
    31  other identifier, can be used to identify that individual, and  includes
    32  data  contained  in  an agency record about the individual's background,
    33  circumstances, needs and services that have been provided to  the  indi-
    34  vidual.
    35    (g)  "Services"  means  functions  a local government performs for the
    36  purpose of assisting individuals, including but not  limited  to  educa-
    37  tional  efforts  and  outreach  by  a  local  government about benefits,
    38  services, and care coordination.
    39    4. Disclosure of personal information among agencies. Subject  to  any
    40  restrictions  imposed  by  federal  law,  and  notwithstanding any other
    41  provision of the laws of New York relating  to  the  confidentiality  of
    42  personal  information, other than laws requiring that records be sealed,
    43  an agency may disclose the  personal  information  of  individuals  that
    44  would otherwise be restricted from disclosure to another agency or agent
    45  thereof for the limited purpose of:
    46    (a) providing benefits, services, or care coordination to individuals;
    47  or
    48    (b) a research study concerning the provision of benefits, services or
    49  care  coordination  that is conducted by or on behalf of a local govern-
    50  ment health or human services agency and is in compliance with  applica-
    51  ble local, state and federal laws relating to human subjects research.
    52    5.  The  disclosure  of  personal information pursuant to this section
    53  shall only be made subject to a written agreement  between  the  parties
    54  involved  in the disclosure of the personal information, and such agree-
    55  ment shall:

        S. 9124                             3

     1    (a) be approved by legal counsel and the  chief  information  security
     2  officer  for each agency that is a party to the agreement, and the local
     3  government's chief privacy officer, where such a position exists;
     4    (b)  provide  that  access to the personal information to be shared is
     5  limited to employees or agents of the parties that require  such  access
     6  to  fulfill  their  job functions in relation to providing the benefits,
     7  services and care coordination described in such agreement;
     8    (c) describe the type of personal information to be shared, how it  is
     9  to  be  shared,  and  the use and purpose relating to specific benefits,
    10  services or care coordination to be furthered by the disclosure;
    11    (d) prohibit  the  agency  to  which  personal  information  shall  be
    12  disclosed  from  redisclosing,  publishing  or  otherwise revealing such
    13  personal information without written permission of the disclosing  agen-
    14  cy,  except where required by law, and require that such redisclosure be
    15  in accordance with a written agreement subject to the terms set forth in
    16  this subdivision; and
    17    (e) impose requirements governing the  secure  transmission,  storage,
    18  use  and  access  to the disclosed personal information that are no less
    19  stringent than those established by the  local  government  agency  that
    20  directs,  manages, and has authority over a city's cyber defense, inves-
    21  tigation, response, and policy.
    22    6. Nothing in this section  shall  be  interpreted  to  authorize  the
    23  disclosure  of personal information among or between agencies of a local
    24  government for any other purpose  than  providing  or  making  available
    25  benefits, services and care coordination to its populace or conducting a
    26  research  study  pursuant  to  paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this
    27  section, nor shall this section be interpreted to  authorize  disclosure
    28  of  personal information for the purposes of investigating an offense as
    29  such term is defined in subdivision one of section 10.00  of  the  penal
    30  law.
    31    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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