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A10384 Summary:

BILL NOA10384
 
SAME ASSAME AS S09246
 
SPONSORRules (Bichotte Hermelyn)
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §13.33, Ment Hyg L
 
Requires boards of visitors provide greater transparency to the public regarding such boards' activities including when it meets and providing materials to the public.
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A10384 Actions:

BILL NOA10384
 
05/21/2024referred to people with disabilities
06/04/2024reference changed to ways and means
06/06/2024reported referred to rules
06/06/2024reported
06/06/2024rules report cal.517
06/06/2024substituted by s9246
 S09246 AMEND= MANNION
 05/07/2024REFERRED TO DISABILITIES
 05/13/20241ST REPORT CAL.1014
 05/14/20242ND REPORT CAL.
 05/15/2024ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
 06/04/2024PASSED SENATE
 06/04/2024DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
 06/04/2024referred to ways and means
 06/06/2024substituted for a10384
 06/06/2024ordered to third reading rules cal.517
 06/06/2024passed assembly
 06/06/2024returned to senate
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A10384 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A10384
 
SPONSOR: Rules (Bichotte Hermelyn)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring boards of visitors provide greater transparency to the public regarding such boards' activities   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to enhance transparency and public account- ability of the boards of visitors by mandating that these boards provide detailed and accessible information about their meetings, procedures, and activities. This legislation seeks to ensure that the activities and findings of the boards are readily accessible to the public.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1. Amends subdivisions (d), (f), and (j) of section 13.33 of the mental hygiene law. This amendment specifies the roles and responsi- bilities concerning the election of board officers and the notification process about these elections. It establishes a clear protocol for the scheduling and notification of regular bi-monthly meetings, including the publication of meeting dates and board activities on the office's website. The amendments further detail the procedures for addressing the non-attendance of board members at meetings, including the notification process and potential consequences of repeated absences. Section 2. Effective date.   JUSTIFICATION:. Current procedures and communications of the boards of visitors are not sufficiently transparent, limiting the public's ability to understand and engage with the governance of state facilities that oversee mental hygiene. By requiring these boards to publicly post and report their activities, meeting schedules, and procedural bylaws, this bill ensures that stakeholders, including patients' families and advocacy groups, have the necessary information to effectively participate in and monitor these institutions. Additionally, the introduction of strict require- ments for reporting member attendance and activities helps in maintain- ing the integrity and accountability of these boards.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it becomes law.
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A10384 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          10384
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 21, 2024
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced   by   COMMITTEE  ON  RULES  --  (at  request  of  M.  of  A.
          Bichotte Hermelyn) -- read once  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on
          People with Disabilities
 
        AN  ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring boards
          of visitors provide greater transparency to the public regarding  such
          boards' activities

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivisions (d), (f) and  (j)  of  section  13.33  of  the
     2  mental  hygiene  law, as amended by section 4 of part J of chapter 56 of
     3  the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
     4    (d) Each board shall, at the first meeting of each calendar year elect
     5  one member to serve as president of the board and one member to serve as
     6  secretary; provided however, that no member may serve for more than  two
     7  consecutive  years  as president.   After such election of the president
     8  and secretary, each board shall inform the governor, the speaker of  the
     9  assembly and the temporary president of the senate of such new president
    10  and secretary.
    11    (f) (1) Each board of visitors shall hold six bi-monthly regular meet-
    12  ings annually, but a greater number of regular meetings may be scheduled
    13  by the board. Each board of visitors shall establish in their by-laws or
    14  otherwise,  in  writing  and at the first meeting of each calendar year,
    15  whether these six meetings shall be held during  months  represented  by
    16  odd  numbers or months represented by even numbers. The president of the
    17  board shall notify [the chairman of the commission on  quality  of  care
    18  and  advocacy  for  persons with disabilities] the executive director of
    19  the justice center for the protection of people with special  needs  and
    20  the  [state  operations director] commissioner of the determination made
    21  concerning the designated months for the six  bi-monthly  regular  meet-
    22  ings.    The  dates  of  such  meetings  shall be posted on the office's
    23  website and shall be made available to the public. The president of  the
    24  board, the commissioner, [the director,] or the members as determined by
    25  the rules of the board may call special meetings. The board may [require
    26  the director] request the commissioner, or such commissioner's designee,
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15169-01-4

        A. 10384                            2
 
     1  to  submit  a  report at each meeting. Each board shall keep a record of
     2  its proceedings and activities. A member of a board of visitors who  has
     3  failed  to attend three consecutive bi-monthly regular meetings shall be
     4  considered  to  have vacated [his] such member's office unless otherwise
     5  ordered by the governor. The board shall cause  notice  of  any  of  its
     6  public  meetings  to be sent to the mental hygiene legal service located
     7  in the same judicial department as  the  state  operations  office.  The
     8  mental  hygiene  legal  service  may  send  a representative to any such
     9  public meeting, and may request the board to review  patient  complaints
    10  or  investigate  alleged  incidents  of abuse or mistreatment. The board
    11  shall notify the appropriate representative of the mental hygiene  legal
    12  service  of  the  board's  actions  and findings in relation to any such
    13  request.  Meeting minutes, agendas, proceedings, activities, by-laws and
    14  actions by each board shall be posted on the office's website and  shall
    15  be made available to the public.
    16    (2)  The  president  of the board of visitors shall notify a member by
    17  certified or registered mail return receipt requested when  such  member
    18  of the board has failed to attend any two consecutive bi-monthly regular
    19  meetings. This notice shall be sent within ten days following the second
    20  meeting  and  shall  include  the  dates  of the two meetings which were
    21  missed, the date of the next bi-monthly regular meeting, and a statement
    22  concerning the consequences of failure to attend the next meeting.
    23    (3) Within three  days  after  the  third  consecutive  absence  at  a
    24  bi-monthly  regular  meeting  by a member, the president of the board of
    25  visitors shall notify, in writing, the governor, the  commissioner,  the
    26  [chairman  of the commission on quality of care and advocacy for persons
    27  with disabilities] executive director of  the  justice  center  for  the
    28  protection  of people with special needs, the temporary president of the
    29  senate and the [state operations director] speaker of  the  assembly  of
    30  such absences.  The president of the board of visitors shall send a copy
    31  of  this notice by registered or certified mail return receipt requested
    32  to the member to whom it pertains. The member may petition the  governor
    33  to  excuse [his] such member's absences. If the governor does not excuse
    34  the absences within forty-five days of the date of the third consecutive
    35  meeting absence, the office of the member shall be deemed vacated.
    36    (j) Once each year, each board shall make an independent assessment of
    37  conditions at such facilities and shall submit a report on  the  assess-
    38  ment  and  recommendations  to the governor, to the commissioner, to the
    39  temporary president of the senate, to the speaker of the assembly and to
    40  the [chairman of the state commission on quality of  care  and  advocacy
    41  for  persons with disabilities] executive director of the justice center
    42  for the protection of people with special needs.
    43    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    44  it shall have become a law.
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