Bill Text: NY S05750 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires counties to maintain a confidential registry of people of all ages with disabilities for the purpose of evacuating and sheltering such persons during disasters.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS [S05750 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S05750-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5750

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 14, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
          ty and Military Affairs

        AN  ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring counties to
          maintain a confidential registry of people of all ages with  disabili-
          ties for evacuation and sheltering during disasters

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

     1    Section 1. Section 23-a of the executive law, as added by chapter  658
     2  of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  23-a.  [County]  Confidential county registry of [disabled persons]
     4  people of all ages with disabilities, as that term is defined in  subdi-
     5  vision  twenty-one  of  section  two hundred ninety-two of this chapter;
     6  notice.   1.   In each county having  a  local  [disaster  preparedness]
     7  comprehensive emergency management plan pursuant to section twenty-three
     8  of  this  article,  in order to meet the special needs of persons of all
     9  ages with disabilities who would need assistance during evacuations  and
    10  sheltering  because  of  physical or mental [handicaps] disabilities, it
    11  [is recommended] shall be required that each chief executive maintain  a
    12  confidential  registry  of  [disabled  persons]  people of all ages with
    13  disabilities located within the county.  People of all ages  with  disa-
    14  bilities  shall  be given the option to be included in the registry. The
    15  [registration] registry shall identify those persons in need of  assist-
    16  ance  and  plan  for resource allocation to meet those identified needs.
    17  To assist the chief executive in identifying such  persons,  the  county
    18  department of health, [or] and the county department of social services,
    19  the  county department of mental health, such other county department or
    20  agency as designated by the chief executive, shall  provide  [voluntary]
    21  information  about the registry and the registration [information] proc-
    22  ess to all of its [special needs clients] consumers  of  all  ages  with
    23  disabilities  and  to  all  incoming  [clients] consumers as part of the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07689-01-9
        S. 5750                             2

     1  intake process.  The registry shall be updated annually.  The  registra-
     2  tion  program shall give [disabled persons] such people of all ages with
     3  disabilities the option of pre-authorizing emergency response  personnel
     4  to enter their homes during search and rescue operations if necessary to
     5  assure their safety and welfare during disasters.
     6    2.  Upon  the  establishment of a [voluntary] confidential registry of
     7  [disabled persons] people of all ages with disabilities as  provided  in
     8  subdivision  one  of  this  section, the chief executive shall make such
     9  registry available to the appropriate county, state and federal agencies
    10  for their use in delivering services in the event of a  local  or  state
    11  disaster.  The  chief  executive shall, upon [the] request [of the state
    12  emergency management  office],  provide  such  registry  information  to
    13  [such]  the  state emergency management office, provided that the confi-
    14  dentiality of such information is preserved.  The chief  executive  may,
    15  at  his or her discretion, use the registry information for local disas-
    16  ter preparedness [only] in coordination with  other  political  subdivi-
    17  sions  of  the state, provided that the confidentiality of such informa-
    18  tion is preserved.
    19    3.  Upon the establishment of a [voluntary] confidential  registry  of
    20  [disabled  persons]  people of all ages with disabilities as provided in
    21  subdivision one of this section, [at least  semi-annually,]  each  chief
    22  executive shall annually cause to be published in a newspaper of general
    23  circulation  within  the  county  a  notice  of  the availability of the
    24  [voluntary] registration program and each chief executive shall, in  his
    25  or  her  discretion, also provide information about the registry and the
    26  registration process to other forms of media, and shall  further  ensure
    27  that  information  about  the  registry  and the registration process is
    28  available on the website of such county.
    29    4. All records, data, information, correspondence  and  communications
    30  relating  to  the  registration of [disabled persons] people of all ages
    31  with disabilities as provided in subdivision one  of  this  section  are
    32  confidential,  except  that such information shall be available to other
    33  county chief executives for local  disaster  preparedness  only  as  the
    34  chief executive of the county maintaining such registry deems necessary.
    35  Provided,  however,  the  individual  file of a person having registered
    36  with the confidential registry of [disabled persons] people of all  ages
    37  with disabilities shall be made available to that person upon request.
    38    5.  All community-based services providers, including home health care
    39  providers, shall assist the chief executive by  collecting  confidential
    40  registration  information  for  people  [with special needs] of all ages
    41  with disabilities who choose to provide  such  information  as  part  of
    42  program  intake  processes, establishing programs to increase the aware-
    43  ness of the registration  process,  and  educating  [clients]  consumers
    44  about  the  procedures  that  may  be  necessary for their safety during
    45  disasters.
    46    6. A county shall not be liable for any claim based upon  the  reason-
    47  able,  good  faith exercise or performance or the reasonable, good faith
    48  failure to exercise or perform a function or duty on  the  part  of  any
    49  officer or employee in carrying out a local disaster preparedness plan.
    50    §  2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    51  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.