S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6153
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               April 3, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Operations
 
 AN ACT to establish the pandemic  response  study  commission  act;  and
   providing for the repeal of such commission upon the completion of the
   commission's final report

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "pandemic response study commission act".
   §  2.  Statement of legislative findings and purposes. The legislature
 hereby finds and declares that:
   a. protecting the public health is one of the highest responsibilities
 of state government;
   b. as recent events tragically confirmed, New York  is  vulnerable  to
 global  pandemics because of its status as a hub of international travel
 and tourism, among other factors;
   c. COVID-19 reached New York in the early months of the  outbreak  and
 hit  the  state  especially  hard--eventually  claiming more than 75,000
 lives, sickening millions of others, massively disrupting ordinary  life
 and doing billions in damage to the economy;
   d. the crisis revealed limitations in the state's public health system
 that  delayed the government's response and undermined the effectiveness
 of its interventions;
   e. those limitations included a delay in disease surveillance  systems
 to  detect  COVID-19  for  several weeks after its arrival in the state;
 lack of critical supplies such  as  personal  protective  equipment  and
 mechanical  ventilators;  miscommunication  between  different levels of
 government to address issues such as overcrowding of hospitals;
   f. despite these shortcomings, many New Yorkers in and out of  govern-
 ment performed heroically during the crisis--especially including front-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02888-01-3
 A. 6153                             2
              

 
 line  caregivers  who  worked tirelessly to save lives, often at risk to
 their own health;
   g.  another  deadly virus could arise at any time and potentially have
 ramifications far worse than COVID-19;
   h. the state has a duty to carefully review the events of the  corona-
 virus  pandemic,  so  that  it can learn from experience and provide the
 best possible public health protection for New Yorkers going forward.
   The legislature further finds and declares that it is in the  interest
 of  the state to immediately undertake a thorough, rigorous, independent
 study of its response to COVID-19 for the purpose of building  state-of-
 the-art  public  health  defenses against future pandemics. To undertake
 such review rationally and equitably, the legislature determines that it
 is necessary to establish a commission separate and apart from  existing
 bodies responsible for public health and emergency response, which shall
 be  charged  with drawing lessons from the coronavirus crisis and recom-
 mending improvements to the state's public health system that will safe-
 guard the lives and livelihoods of New Yorkers.
   § 3. a. There is hereby established a pandemic response study  commis-
 sion  to conduct a study of the state's response to COVID-19 and to make
 recommendations on improvements to the state's public health system. The
 commission shall consist of the following nine voting members: one shall
 be appointed by the temporary president of  the  senate;  one  shall  be
 appointed  by the speaker of the assembly; one shall be appointed by the
 senate minority leader; one shall be appointed by the assembly  minority
 leader;  one  shall  be  appointed  by  the  comptroller;  one  shall be
 appointed by the attorney general; and three members shall be  appointed
 by  the  governor, one of whom shall be the chairperson. At least one of
 the members appointed by the governor shall  be  experienced  in  public
 health  at  the local government level. The commissioners of the depart-
 ment of health and the  division  of  homeland  security  and  emergency
 services, or their designees, shall be ex-officio non-voting members.
   b.  A  majority  of the commission shall constitute a quorum to hold a
 meeting and to conduct official  business.  The  commission  shall  have
 power  to act by the majority vote of the total number of members of the
 commission.
   c. All voting members shall  be  selected  based  on  their  expertise
 and/or  experience  in  relevant  fields such as epidemiology, virology,
 medicine, public health policy making, emergency procurement  processes,
 auditing,  emergency  management  and public health management. At least
 one member shall have expertise or experience in addressing  the  health
 care  needs  of  underserved  communities disproportionately affected by
 COVID-19. No voting member may be within the past two  years  an  active
 elected  official,  lobbyist, government vendor or contractor, political
 party officer, or candidate for elected office in New  York  State,  and
 may  not be a current employee of a state or local government agency, an
 employee or official of a state-regulated health-care entity,  or  state
 official or employee involved in the state's COVID-19 response.
   d.  Members  of the commission shall receive no compensation for their
 services, but shall be  allowed  their  actual  and  necessary  expenses
 incurred in the performance of their functions hereunder.
   e.  The  commission  shall investigate all aspects of New York State's
 pandemic response including, but not limited to: policies  and  guidance
 on  management  of  hospitals;  the  transfer  of individuals to nursing
 facilities and other congregate care settings; the shutdown and re-open-
 ings of educational institutions; the determination of  what  businesses
 and  functions  were  considered  essential; the protection of essential
 A. 6153                             3
 
 workers in their workplaces; coordination  between  the  state  and  its
 federal  and  local counterparts; effective communication and sharing of
 data with the public; and the staffing and expertise needed to plan  and
 implement emergency procedures.
   f. The commission shall be formed and hold its first meeting within 90
 days  of  the  effective  date of this act. The commission shall issue a
 draft report of its findings and recommendations within one  year  after
 its initial meeting, which shall be posted on the commission's website.
   g.  The  commission shall hold public hearings on its draft report and
 publish a final report which shall include factual findings  and  recom-
 mendations  within  18  months  of its initial meeting. The commission's
 proceedings shall be subject to articles six and  seven  of  the  public
 officers  law.  A  public  comment  period  of at least 60 days shall be
 included on the draft report prior to the issuance of  a  final  report.
 Public  comment shall be accepted during any public hearings and through
 electronic submissions.
   h. The commission shall have  the  authority  to  hire  employees  and
 execute contracts.
   i. The commission may conduct and/or solicit scientific research as it
 deems necessary.
   j.  For  the accomplishment of its purposes, the commission shall have
 full access to all documents, data, analysis,  reports  and  recommenda-
 tions  produced by any other state-ordered or state-conducted reviews of
 the pandemic response, including by independent contractors. The commis-
 sion shall have the authority to review existing  contracts  related  to
 the pandemic response on terms mutually acceptable to the commission and
 the contractor.
   k.  For  the accomplishment of its purposes, the commission shall have
 access to state records and documents, including confidential materials,
 and shall be able to interview witnesses, issue subpoenas and, by major-
 ity vote, refer matters for prosecution.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
 deemed  repealed  upon  the issuance of the commission's final report as
 required by subdivision g of section three of this  act;  provided  that
 the  commissioner of the department of health or the commissioner of the
 division of homeland security and emergency services  shall  notify  the
 legislative bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of the delivery
 of the report provided for in subdivision g of section three of this act
 in  order that the commission may maintain an accurate and timely effec-
 tive data base of the official text of the laws of the state of New York
 in furtherance of effectuating the  provisions  of  section  44  of  the
 legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law.