Bill Text: NY S08207 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the commission of the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing; requires the commission of the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing to transmit complaints in matters affecting the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing communities to the vulnerable persons' central register; repeals provisions relating to the New York state interagency coordinating council for services to persons who are deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-12 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S08207 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S08207-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8207 IN SENATE January 12, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sens. COONEY, BROUK, HARCKHAM, MARTINS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the commission of the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing; to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring the commission of the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing to transmit complaints in matters affecting the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing communities to the vulnerable persons' central register; and to repeal section 559 of the executive law relating to the New York state interagency coordinating council for services to persons who are deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 26-C 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 26-C 4 COMMISSION OF THE DEAF, DEAFBLIND AND HARD OF HEARING 5 Section 755. Definitions. 6 756. Commission of the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing. 7 757. Executive director. 8 758. Membership of the commission. 9 759. Powers and duties of the commission. 10 § 755. Definitions. When used in this article, the following words and 11 terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section: 12 1. "deaf" shall mean a person who has profound hearing loss and who 13 primarily relies on visual communication, such as sign language, writ- 14 ing, lip reading, and gestures, which may be used exclusively or in 15 combination, or who communicates orally and use sign language to support 16 their understanding of the spoken language; 17 2. "deafblind" shall mean a person with varying degrees of combined 18 hearing and vision loss; and 19 3. "hard of hearing" shall mean a person with measurable hearing loss. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05828-02-4S. 8207 2 1 § 756. Commission of the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing. There is 2 hereby established the "commission of the deaf, deafblind and hard of 3 hearing". 4 § 757. Executive director. The governor shall appoint, at the recom- 5 mendation of the commission, an executive director of the commission who 6 shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The executive director 7 shall receive an annual salary fixed by the governor within the amounts 8 appropriated specifically therefor and shall be entitled to reimburse- 9 ment for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their 10 official duties. The executive director shall assist the commission in 11 carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the commission. 12 § 758. Membership of the commission. 1. The commission shall be 13 comprised of nine voting members and three non-voting members. All 14 members must be New York residents. 15 (a) Five members of the commission shall be appointed by the gover- 16 nor in the following manner: 17 (i) three members, one whom is deaf, one whom is deafblind and one 18 whom is hard of hearing; 19 (ii) a licensed audiologist pursuant to article one hundred fifty-nine 20 of the education law; and 21 (iii) a representative of a state-supported school for the instruction 22 of students who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing. 23 (b) One member of the commission shall be appointed by the temporary 24 president of the senate. Such member shall be hard of hearing. 25 (c) One member of the commission shall be appointed by the speaker of 26 the assembly. Such member shall be deaf. 27 (d) One member of the commission shall be appointed by the minority 28 leader of the senate. Such member shall be deafblind. 29 (e) One member of the commission shall be appointed by the minority 30 leader of the assembly. Such member shall be a parent of a child who is 31 deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing. 32 (f) The executive director of the commission of the deaf, deafblind 33 and hard of hearing shall be a non-voting, ex-officio member of the 34 commission. 35 (g) The members of the commission shall appoint two non-voting members 36 of the commission, one whom shall be a qualified sign language inter- 37 preter and one whom shall be a qualified real-time captioning provider. 38 2. The identification and selection of candidates for appointments 39 shall be done, to the greatest extent possible, in consultation with 40 organizations and individuals representing the deaf, deafblind and hard 41 of hearing communities. 42 3. The members of the commission shall serve terms of three 43 years. Subsequent appointments upon the expiration of such terms shall 44 be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The members 45 of the commission shall elect one of their members to serve as chair- 46 person during his or her appointment term or for a period of three 47 years, whichever is shorter. 48 4. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but 49 shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the 50 performance of their duties. 51 5. The commission shall meet at least four times per year. The 52 meetings shall be made accessible to the deaf, deafblind and hard of 53 hearing communities. A majority of the voting membership of the commis- 54 sion shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of commission 55 business. Action may be taken and motions and resolutions adopted byS. 8207 3 1 the commission at any meeting thereof by the affirmative vote of five 2 members of the commission. 3 § 759. Powers and duties of the commission. 1. The commission shall 4 advise the governor and the legislature on how the state can effectively 5 meet the needs of the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing communities. 6 2. The duties and responsibilities of the commission are to: 7 (a) create a statewide plan, including annual updates, to deliver 8 coordinated services and programs to persons who are deaf, deafblind and 9 hard of hearing in a manner that best serves their needs including but 10 not limited to accessibility, educational, medical, housing, and employ- 11 ment services. The commission shall coordinate with other state agen- 12 cies, and the Commission for the Blind, as appropriate, when creating 13 their state plan to deliver coordinated services and programs; 14 (b) develop a process to collect and maintain data on the number of 15 deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing individuals in New York state; 16 (c) regularly maintain a website that serves as a clearinghouse of 17 information, resources and services for persons who are deaf, deafblind 18 and hard of hearing; 19 (d) create a referral system that receives complaints in matters 20 affecting the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing communities and refers 21 such complaints to the appropriate agencies or organizations if neces- 22 sary or appropriate, provided however, if such complaint is a reportable 23 incident pursuant to article eleven of the social services law, it shall 24 be forwarded to the vulnerable persons' central register or if such 25 complaint is a criminal matter, it shall be forwarded to the appropriate 26 law enforcement agency; 27 (e) coordinate with federal, state and local agencies to improve 28 access to public safety and emergency services; 29 (f) develop strategies to increase employment opportunities for deaf, 30 deafblind and hard of hearing individuals including, but not limited to, 31 job training and career development services; 32 (g) develop and recommend policies to the governor and legislature as 33 deemed necessary to assist the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing 34 communities; 35 (h) develop a model policy on interpreter and captioning services 36 including methods to increase access to such services and licensing of 37 qualified interpreters and captioners; 38 (i) provide technical assistance to state agencies and departments, 39 local governments, agencies or other non-governmental entities on devel- 40 oping policies, providing services and increasing accessibility for the 41 deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing communities; 42 (j) improve and expand access to assistive technology including but 43 not limited to, relay services, closed captioning, open captioning, 44 hearing loops, telecommunication devices, transcription services, alter- 45 native text or other communication services; 46 (k) coordinate with the department of state regarding access to hear- 47 ing aids and other associated resources; and 48 (l) develop public awareness materials and resources on hearing pres- 49 ervation and hearing loss prevention. 50 3. Subject to an appropriation by the legislature, the commission may 51 hire personnel or enter into contracts deemed necessary to carry out the 52 duties and responsibilities of the commission. 53 4. The commission shall submit an annual report to the governor and 54 legislature detailing the operation and actions of the commission 55 including but not limited to the development and implementation of the 56 statewide plan, policy recommendations, and actions taken in conjunctionS. 8207 4 1 with state or local agencies. The initial report shall be submitted on 2 September first, two thousand twenty-five, with subsequent reports annu- 3 ally thereafter. 4 § 2. Section 559 of the executive law is REPEALED. 5 § 3. Section 491 of the social services law is amended by adding a new 6 subdivision 6 to read as follows: 7 6. The commission of the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing estab- 8 lished pursuant to article twenty-six-C of the executive law shall be 9 responsible for transmitting complaints in matters affecting the deaf, 10 deafblind and hard of hearing communities to the vulnerable persons' 11 central register, as appropriate, where such complaints involve allega- 12 tions of reportable incidents pursuant to this section. 13 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 14 it shall have become a law.
