STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5819
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 15, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. METZGER -- 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 the definition of
"veteran"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 357 of the executive law,
2 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 43 of the laws of 1996, are amended
3 to read as follows:
4 1. County veterans' service agencies. There shall be established a
5 county veterans' service agency in each county not wholly included with-
6 in a city, and there shall be a county director of each county veterans'
7 service agency. Any county director hired after the effective date of
8 this statute shall be a veteran [as defined in New York state statute];
9 provided however, for the purposes of this section, a veteran may also
10 include an individual with a DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or
11 Discharge from Active Duty. The [chairman] chairperson of the board of
12 supervisors of a county, with the approval of the board of supervisors,
13 shall appoint and may at pleasure remove a county director of the county
14 veterans' service agency for such county. In a county having a county
15 president, a county executive or other chief executive officer, such
16 president or executive officer shall appoint and may at pleasure remove
17 a county director. The county director may be paid such compensation as
18 shall be fixed by the appointing officer and the board of supervisors.
19 The county director shall appoint such assistants and employees as he or
20 she may deem necessary, other than those, if any, supplied by the state;
21 he or she may prescribe the duties of those appointed by him or her and
22 fix their salaries within the appropriations made available for that
23 purpose by the county and may at pleasure remove any such assistants or
24 employees. The county director shall have jurisdiction throughout the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11304-01-9
S. 5819 2
1 territorial limits of the county, including any city therein which does
2 not have a city veterans' service agency, provided that after the estab-
3 lishment of a city veterans' service agency in any such city, the county
4 director shall not have jurisdiction within such city.
5 2. City veterans' service agency. There may be established a city
6 veterans' service agency in each city; and there shall be a city direc-
7 tor of each city veterans' service agency which is established. The
8 mayor of such city, or the city manager in a city of less than one
9 hundred forty thousand population having a city manager, shall appoint
10 and may at pleasure remove the city director. A city director may be
11 paid such compensation as shall be fixed by the mayor or city manager,
12 as the case may be, empowered to appoint the city director, and the
13 governing body of the city. The city director may appoint such deputies,
14 assistants and employees as he or she may deem necessary other than
15 those, if any, supplied by the state; he or she may prescribe the duties
16 of those appointed by him or her and fix their salaries within the
17 appropriations made available for that purpose by the city and may at
18 pleasure remove any such assistant or employee. A city director shall
19 have jurisdiction throughout the territorial limits of the city.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
21 have become a law.