Senate Bill S2258

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2258
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 12, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- 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 requiring counties  to
   maintain a registry of people of all ages with disabilities for evacu-
   ation and sheltering during disasters

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 23-a of the executive law, as added by chapter  658
 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
   §  23-a. County registry of [disabled persons] PEOPLE OF ALL AGES WITH
 DISABILITIES, AS THAT TERM  IS  DEFINED  IN  SUBDIVISION  TWENTY-ONE  OF
 SECTION  TWO  HUNDRED  NINETY-TWO  OF THIS CHAPTER; notice.  1.  In each
 county having a local disaster preparedness  plan  pursuant  to  section
 twenty-three  of  this  article,  in  order to meet the special needs of
 persons OF ALL AGES WITH DISABILITIES who would need  assistance  during
 evacuations  and  sheltering  because  of physical or mental [handicaps]
 DISABILITIES, it [is recommended] SHALL  BE  REQUIRED  that  each  chief
 executive  maintain  a registry of [disabled persons] PEOPLE OF ALL AGES
 WITH DISABILITIES located within the county.   PEOPLE OF ALL  AGES  WITH
 DISABILITIES  SHALL BE GIVEN THE OPTION NOT TO BE INCLUDED IN THE REGIS-
 TRY. The registration shall identify those persons in need of assistance
 and plan for resource allocation to meet those  identified  needs.    To
 assist  the  chief  executive  in  identifying  such persons, the county
 department of health, THE COUNTY  DEPARTMENT  OF  SOCIAL  SERVICES,  THE
 COUNTY  DEPARTMENT  OF MENTAL HEALTH, or such other county department or
 agency as designated by the chief executive, shall  provide  [voluntary]
 registration  information  to  all of its [special needs] clients OF ALL
 AGES WITH DISABILITIES and to all incoming clients as part of the intake
 process.   The registry shall be updated  annually.    The  registration
 program shall give [disabled persons] SUCH PEOPLE OF ALL AGES WITH DISA-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD06893-01-7

 S. 2258                             2
 
 BILITIES  the  option of pre-authorizing emergency response personnel to
 enter their homes during search and rescue operations  if  necessary  to
 assure their safety and welfare during disasters.
   2.  Upon  the  establishment  of  a  [voluntary] registry of [disabled
 persons] PEOPLE OF ALL AGES WITH DISABILITIES as provided in subdivision
 one of this section, the chief executive shall make such registry avail-
 able to the appropriate county, state and federal agencies for their use
 in delivering services in the event of a local or  state  disaster.  The
 chief  executive shall[, upon the request of the state emergency manage-
 ment office,] provide such registry  information  to  [such]  THE  STATE
 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT office. The chief executive may, at his discretion,
 use  the  registry  information  for local disaster preparedness only in
 coordination with other political subdivisions of the state.
   3.   Upon the establishment of a  [voluntary]  registry  of  [disabled
 persons] PEOPLE OF ALL AGES WITH DISABILITIES as provided in subdivision
 one  of this section, at least semi-annually, each chief executive shall
 cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation  within  the
 county  a  notice  of  the  availability of the [voluntary] registration
 program.
   4. All records, data, information, correspondence  and  communications
 relating  to  the  registration of [disabled persons] PEOPLE OF ALL AGES
 WITH DISABILITIES as provided in subdivision one  of  this  section  are
 confidential,  except  that such information shall be available to other
 county chief executives for local  disaster  preparedness  only  as  the
 chief executive of the county maintaining such registry deems necessary.
 Provided,  however,  the  individual  file of a person having registered
 with the registry of [disabled persons] PEOPLE OF ALL AGES WITH DISABIL-
 ITIES shall be made available to that person upon request.
   5. All community-based services providers, including home health  care
 providers,  shall  assist the chief executive by collecting registration
 information for people with special needs  as  part  of  program  intake
 processes, establishing programs to increase the awareness of the regis-
 tration  process, and educating clients about the procedures that may be
 necessary for their safety during disasters.
   6. A county shall not be liable for any claim based upon  the  REASON-
 ABLE,  good  faith exercise or performance or the REASONABLE, good faith
 failure to exercise or perform a function or duty on  the  part  of  any
 officer or employee in carrying out a local disaster preparedness plan.
   §  2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.