Bill Text: NY S02777 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Directs the NYS energy research and development authority and public and private operators of each nuclear-powered electric generating facility to establish a nuclear whistleblower access and assistance program; makes related provisions as to elements of the program and provides that employees of such plants shall not be subject to retaliation; requires authority to investigate reported safety concerns; provides that whistleblowers shall have standing to litigate and may do so without exhaustion of administration remedies; authorizes the attorney general to bring actions to enforce the labor law provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-01 - PRINT NUMBER 2777A [S02777 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S02777-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2777--A
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 29, 2015
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens.  KRUEGER, HAMILTON, PERKINS, SERRANO -- read twice
          and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
          on Energy and Telecommunications -- recommitted to  the  Committee  on
          Energy and Telecommunications 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 public authorities law, the public service law,  the
          labor law, the civil service law and the executive law, in relation to
          establishing a nuclear whistleblower access and assistance program
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The legislature finds that safe operation of  the  publicly
     2  and privately owned nuclear-powered electric generating facilities with-
     3  in  the  state  is a matter of paramount public concern. The legislature
     4  further finds that an essential component of any safety  strategy  is  a
     5  program  which  assures  that employees who have first-hand knowledge of
     6  potential safety problems can freely communicate their concerns  without
     7  fear  of  retaliation.   Although laws and regulations exist at both the
     8  state and federal level to protect whistleblowers, the legislature finds
     9  that the purpose served by such laws will be furthered if an affirmative
    10  program exists which encourages employees to come forward  with  safety-
    11  related  concerns. The legislature finds that the state, as the owner of
    12  the power plants operated by the power authority of  the  state  of  New
    13  York,  has an interest and obligation to ensure that such facilities are
    14  being managed in a way that provides the highest possible level of safe-
    15  ty.   The legislature also finds that  the  state  has  an  interest  in
    16  protecting  and  an obligation to protect its citizens from the possible
    17  hazards of privately owned nuclear-powered electric  generating  facili-
    18  ties.
    19    §  2.  The  public  authorities law is amended by adding a new section
    20  1873-a to read as follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03617-02-6