Senate Bill S8661

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8661

SPONSOR: KENNEDY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to paratransit
services

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill ensures that individuals with disabilities may apply or recer-
tify for paratransit service, such as NYC's Access-A-Ride, by submission
of a doctor's note that verifies their disability, in lieu of an in-per-
son assessment.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 1266 of the public authorities law by adding a
new subdivisions 15-a and 15-b which stipulate that an individual apply-
ing or recertifying for paratransit service may, in lieu of an in-person
assessment, submit a note from licensed physician indicating the neces-
              

sity of such service. The note must be dated within the preceding thirty
days, and the rules regarding the form and content of the note will be
set by the proper authority.

Section 2 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

As it stands, to enroll in New York City's Access-A-Ride program, one
must go to the NYC Transit Authority in Brooklyn for an assessment.
However, this imposes an undue burden for individuals with disabilities,
time constraints, and those who live far away from the assessment
center. This bill would eliminate such burdens by allowing individuals
to apply or recertify by submission of correspondence from a licensed
physician dated within the past thirty days, indicating that the
Access-A-Ride program is necessary for such individual. If we are to
support disability rights, we must work to make the application and
recertification process easier for individuals using paratransit
service.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A.10772 (O'DONNELL)

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.