S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1782
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 11, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  JEAN-PIERRE,  BARRETT,  STERN,  BUTTENSCHON,
   SEAWRIGHT, GRIFFIN,  CUSICK,  WALLACE,  DeSTEFANO,  TAGUE,  McDONOUGH,
   MORINELLO,  B. MILLER,  HAWLEY, MONTESANO -- read once and referred to
   the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, the military law and the civil rights
   law, in relation to  certificates  of  honorable  separation  from  or
   service in the armed forces of the United States
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 24 of section 353 of  the  executive  law,  as
 added by chapters 481 and 571 of the laws of 2019, are renumbered subdi-
 visions 25 and 26 and a new subdivision 27 is added to read as follows:
   27.  A  CERTIFICATE OF RELEASE OR DISCHARGE FROM ACTIVE DUTY WHICH WAS
 ISSUED BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND DELIVERED  TO  THE  DIVISION,
 SHALL  BE  FORWARDED  TO THE APPROPRIATE LOCAL VETERANS' SERVICE AGENCY,
 BASED UPON THE MAILING ADDRESS AFTER SEPARATION NOTED  ON  SUCH  CERTIF-
 ICATE, WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF RECEIPT. SUCH TRANSMISSION MAY BE MADE ELEC-
 TRONICALLY.   INFORMATION   CONTAINED  IN  SUCH  CERTIFICATES  SHALL  BE
 PROTECTED AS PERSONAL CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION UNDER  ARTICLE  SIX-A  OF
 THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW AGAINST DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL, AND
 USED  ONLY FOR INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE WITH REGARDS TO STATE BENEFITS
 AND ENTITLEMENTS UNDER FEDERAL AND STATE LAW.
   § 2. Section 250 of the military law, as amended by chapter 298 of the
 laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
   § 250. Recording certificates of honorable discharge. Any  certificate
 issued  after  April sixth, nineteen hundred seventeen, of the honorable
 separation from or service in the armed forces of the United  States  of
 any  veteran,  may  be  recorded in any one county, in the office of the
 county clerk, and when so recorded shall constitute notice to all public
 officials of the facts set forth therein. It shall be the  duty  of  the
 county clerk to record the certificate upon presentation thereof without
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD03688-01-1

 A. 1782                             2
 
 the  payment  of any fee. For any purpose for which the original certif-
 icate may be required in the state of New York, a certified copy of  the
 record shall be deemed sufficient and shall be accepted in lieu thereof.
 Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of law, it shall be the duty
 of  the  county  clerk  of each county, to furnish without charge to any
 veteran, or parent, spouse, dependent or child of the veteran, a  certi-
 fied copy of the certificate of the veteran so recorded in the office of
 the  county  clerk.  No  filed  certificate or any information contained
 therein, shall be disclosed to any person except the veteran or  parent,
 spouse,  dependent or child of the veteran, representative of the estate
 of the deceased veteran, AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF A FUNERAL FIRM,
 AS DEFINED IN SECTION THIRTY-FOUR HUNDRED  OF  THE  PUBLIC  HEALTH  LAW,
 WHICH ASSISTS WITH THE BURIAL OF A VETERAN, or a public official, acting
 within  the  scope  of  his or her employment, unless such disclosure is
 authorized in writing by the veteran. The  provisions  of  this  section
 also apply to the counties within the city of New York.
   §  3.  Section 79-g of the civil rights law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision c to read as follows:
   C. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION IN THIS SECTION TO THE CONTRARY, SUCH
 CERTIFICATE SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION AND COPYING IN
 ACCORDANCE WITH THE ARCHIVAL SCHEDULE ADOPTED BY THE  NATIONAL  ARCHIVES
 AND RECORD ADMINISTRATION (NARA) TOGETHER WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPART-
 MENT OF DEFENSE (DOD), SIGNED ON JULY EIGHTH, TWO THOUSAND EIGHT, MAKING
 THE  OFFICIAL  MILITARY  PERSONNEL FILES PERMANENT RECORDS OF THE UNITED
 STATES. SUCH SCHEDULE MANDATES THE LEGAL TRANSFER OF SUCH FILES FROM DOD
 OWNERSHIP TO NARA OWNERSHIP SIXTY-TWO YEARS AFTER THE  SERVICE  MEMBER'S
 SEPARATION FROM THE MILITARY.
   §  4.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
 section two of this act shall take effect on the one  hundred  eightieth
 day  after it shall have become a law.  Effective immediately, the addi-
 tion, amendment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary  for
 the  implementation  of this act on its effective date are authorized to
 be made and completed on or before such effective date.