S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  4846

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 27, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KLEIN  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop-
  mental Disabilities

AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law,  in  relation  to  renaming  the
  advisory  council on underage alcohol consumption and authorizing such
  council to address the issue of substance use among youth

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Section 19.06 of the mental hygiene law, as added by chap-
ter 275 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
S 19.06 Advisory council  on  underage  alcohol  consumption  AND  YOUTH
          SUBSTANCE ABUSE.
  1. Definitions. As used in this section:
  (a)  "Council"  shall  mean  the  advisory council on underage alcohol
consumption AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE created by this section.
  (b) "Chairperson" shall mean the chairperson of the  advisory  council
on underage alcohol consumption AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE.
  2.   Advisory  council  on  underage  alcohol  consumption  AND  YOUTH
SUBSTANCE ABUSE.  There is hereby created an advisory council on  under-
age  alcohol  consumption  AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE.  The council shall
consist of twenty-one members, who are  broadly  representative  of  the
various groups in society which are stakeholders in the effort to combat
underage  alcohol  consumption AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE.  Seven members
shall be appointed by the governor, seven members by the temporary pres-
ident of the senate and seven members by the speaker of the assembly. In
making such appointments, due consideration shall be given to the recom-
mendations made by representative civic, educational, legal and advocacy
groups and associations concerned with, or  otherwise  engaged  in,  the
representation  of  the  interests  of  the youth of New York state. The
commissioner, the chairman of the state liquor  authority,  the  commis-
sioner  of  mental health, the attorney general, the temporary president

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10583-02-1
              

S. 4846                             2

of the senate and the  speaker  of  the  assembly  shall  be  ex-officio
members of the council.
  3. Term of office for council members. (a) The term of office for each
member  of  the  council  shall  be  two years. Vacancies in the council
occurring, other than by expiration of a term, shall be filled  for  the
remainder  of the unexpired term in the same manner as original appoint-
ments.
  (b) At the beginning of each two year term, the members of the council
shall choose one member of the council  to  be  a  chairperson  and  one
member  to be vice-chairperson. The members of the council shall receive
no compensation for their services, but  shall  be  reimbursed  for  all
expenses actually and necessarily incurred by them in the performance of
their  duties  under  this  section  within the amount made available by
appropriation therefor.
  4. Powers and duties of  the  council.  The  council  shall  have  the
following powers and duties:
  (a)  To receive information with respect to, and to study and analyze,
incidents  of  underage  consumption  of  alcoholic   beverages,   YOUTH
SUBSTANCE  ABUSE, and to examine the elements of such incidents to iden-
tify those factors that are consistently associated with such behavior;
  (b) To identify and analyze the responses  to  underage  drinking  AND
YOUTH  SUBSTANCE  ABUSE  made  by  governmental officials, including law
enforcement officials and prosecutors, and to make recommendations as to
whether such responses appear to be achieving decreases in the incidence
of such behavior, and if not,  whether  it  appears  that  a  change  is
required in policies and procedures;
  (c)  To  conduct  public hearings as may be necessary to carry out its
functions under this section;
  (d) To make recommendations with respect to the following:
  (i) educational programs to teach children  the  dangers  of  underage
drinking AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE;
  (ii)  training  programs for law enforcement officials and prosecutors
to sensitize them to  the  special  nature  of  youth-related  crime  to
encourage them to develop appropriate responses;
  (iii)  the  appropriateness  and  effectiveness  of existing civil and
criminal laws in redressing underage drinking AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE  ABUSE
and any changes that should be made in such laws; and
  (iv)  such  other  matters as may be deemed appropriate by the council
after consultation with involved parties;
  (e) To promulgate any necessary rules of order or procedures  relating
to  the  administration  and performance of the powers and duties of the
council pursuant to this section; and
  (f) To perform all other tasks necessary and convenient to  carry  out
the  functions,  powers  and duties of the council and to effectuate the
purposes of this section.
  5. Report. The council shall submit a written report to the  governor,
temporary  president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly by no
later than October first of the year next succeeding the effective  date
of  this  section and annually thereafter, setting forth the recommenda-
tions and activities of the council on matters within the scope  of  its
powers and duties as set forth in this section.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.