The New York State Senate

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

                                  2357

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 16, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of A. LAVINE, LUPARDO, RUSSELL, SCHIMEL, SIMANOWITZ,
  JAFFEE, SKARTADOS, BROOK-KRASNY, BARRETT,  SCARBOROUGH,  COOK,  CLARK,
  MOYA,  OTIS,  PERRY  -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CRESPO, CROUCH,
  CYMBROWITZ,  DUPREY,  FAHY,  JOHNS,  KEARNS,  MALLIOTAKIS,  McDONOUGH,
  McKEVITT,  MONTESANO,  RAIA -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Veterans' Affairs

AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to providing  certain
  benefits  to veterans; and to amend the correction law, in relation to
  requiring certain reports relating to veterans

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

  Section 1.  Subdivision 1 of section 3803 of the public health law, as
amended  by  chapter  743  of  the  laws  of 2006, is amended to read as
follows:
  1. There is hereby created within the department the  veterans  health
care information program (referred to in this section as the "program"),
which  shall  provide information on health issues associated with mili-
tary  duty,  including  but  not  limited  to  Agent  Orange,  Gulf  War
Syndromes,  toxic materials or harmful physical agents such as, depleted
uranium, and hepatitis C, AND SPECIFIC MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES
INCLUDING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER,  TRAUMATIC  BRAIN  INJURY  AND
OTHER  BRAIN-RELATED INJURIES, for veterans, their surviving spouses and
health care providers.
  S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 29 of the correction law, as amended  by
section  12 of subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is
amended and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows:
  1. The department shall continue to  collect,  maintain,  and  analyze
statistical  and  other  information  and  data  with respect to persons
subject to the jurisdiction of the department, including but not limited
to: (a) the number of such persons: placed in the custody of the depart-
ment, assigned to a  specific  department  program,  accorded  community

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07378-01-5

A. 2357                             2

supervision and declared delinquent, recommitted to a state correctional
institution upon revocation of community supervision, or discharged upon
maximum  expiration  of  sentence;  (b)  the  criminal  history  of such
persons;  (c)  the  social, educational, and vocational circumstances of
any such persons; [and,] (d) the institutional and community supervision
programs and the behavior of such persons; AND, (E) THE  MILITARY  BACK-
GROUND  AND  CIRCUMSTANCES,  IF  SUCH PERSON SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES
ARMED FORCES.  Provided, however, in the event any statistical  informa-
tion on the ethnic background of the inmate population of a correctional
facility  or facilities is collected by the department, such statistical
information shall contain, but not be limited to, the  following  ethnic
categories:  (i)  Caucasian;  (ii)  Asian;  (iii)  American Indian; (iv)
Afro-American/Black; and (v) Spanish  speaking/Hispanic  which  category
shall  include,  but  not  be  limited  to,  the following subcategories
consisting of: (1) Puerto Ricans; (2) Cubans; (3)  Dominicans;  and  (4)
other Hispanic nationalities.
  5.  THE  COMMISSIONER SHALL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE NUMBER OF
INMATES WHO ARE CURRENTLY SERVING SENTENCES IN STATE CORRECTIONAL FACIL-
ITIES AND ANY LOCAL CORRECTIONAL  FACILITIES  WHO  HAVE  SERVED  IN  THE
UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. SUCH REPORT SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMIT-
ED  TO  THE FOLLOWING: A BREAKDOWN OF THE NUMBER OF INMATES BY BRANCH OF
SERVICE, TIME PERIOD OF MILITARY SERVICE AND THE TYPE OF  DISCHARGE  THE
INMATE  RECEIVED UPON SEPARATION FROM THE MILITARY. SUCH REPORT SHALL BE
DONE ANNUALLY.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law; provided, that  any  rules  and  regulations
necessary  for  the  timely  implementation of this act on its effective
date shall be promulgated on or before such date.