Bill Text: NY A11118 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes a working group within the office of the state commissioner of health to promote racial equity throughout the state and address issues related to racism as a public health crisis.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-11-06 - referred to governmental operations [A11118 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A11118-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          11118

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    November 6, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Darling) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to establish a working group to promote racial equity  throughout
          the state

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

     1    Section 1. There is hereby established within the office of the  state
     2  commissioner  of  health  a  working group to be known as "racial equity
     3  working group".
     4    § 2. The working group shall address the issues related to racism as a
     5  public health crisis and do the following: create a publicly  accessible
     6  glossary  of  terms and definitions concerning racism and health equity;
     7  promote community engagement and provide tools for  government  agencies
     8  to engage actively and authentically with communities of color; continue
     9  to  work  to  build  alliances with organizations that have a legacy and
    10  track record of confronting racism;  encourage  community  partners  and
    11  stakeholders in the education, employment, housing, and criminal justice
    12  and safety arenas to recognize racism as a public health crisis and take
    13  appropriate  action; continue to promote racially equitable economic and
    14  workforce development in New York; continue to promote racially  equita-
    15  ble  hiring  and  promotion  of all employees including state employees;
    16  provide training to all elected officials, staff, funders, and  grantees
    17  on  workplace biases and how to mitigate them; promote and encourage all
    18  policies that prioritize the health of people of color;  support  local,
    19  state, regional, and federal initiatives that advance efforts to disman-
    20  tle systematic racism and mitigate exposure to adverse childhood experi-
    21  ences and trauma; incorporate educational efforts to address and disman-
    22  tle  racism and to expand understanding of racism and how racism affects
    23  individual and population  health;  and  secure  adequate  resources  to
    24  successfully accomplish the aforementioned activities.
    25    § 3. The working group shall consist of the following:
    26    (a) the state commissioner of health and his or her designee;
    27    (b) one member appointed by the state commissioner of health;
    28    (c) two members appointed by the governor;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16822-01-0
        A. 11118                            2

     1    (d) one member appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
     2    (e) one member appointed by the temporary president of the senate;
     3    (f) one member appointed by the minority leader of the assembly; and
     4    (g) one member appointed by the minority leader of the senate.
     5    §  4.  The  members  and  staff personnel of the racial equity working
     6  group shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible to receive
     7  reimbursement for  their  reasonable,  actual  and  necessary  expenses,
     8  provided  however, members of the working group representing state agen-
     9  cies may receive reimbursement for their actual and  necessary  expenses
    10  from their respective agencies.
    11    §  5.  For  the  purposes  of this act, the commissioner of health may
    12  conduct such study in conjunction with any other  department,  division,
    13  board,  bureau,  commission, agency, or public authority of the state he
    14  or she deems necessary. To the maximum extent feasible, the commissioner
    15  of health shall be authorized to  request,  receive,  and  utilize  such
    16  resources  and  data  of  any other department, division, board, bureau,
    17  commission, agency, or public authority of the state as he  or  she  may
    18  reasonably  request  to  properly carry out his or her powers and duties
    19  pursuant to this act.
    20    § 6. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    21  have become a law.