S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  3397--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 27, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. RAGA, BEEPHAN -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Veterans' Affairs -- committee discharged, bill  amended,
   ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to revising the
   New York state veteran's memorial and monument registry

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  29-a  of the veterans' services law, as added by
 chapter 14 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   § 29-a. [Veterans] NEW YORK  STATE  VETERAN'S  memorial  AND  MONUMENT
 registry. 1. The NEW YORK STATE VETERAN'S MEMORIAL AND MONUMENT REGISTRY
 IS  HEREBY  ESTABLISHED  AND  SHALL  BE  DEVELOPED AND MAINTAINED BY THE
 department [is directed to  develop  a  veterans  memorial  registry  in
 consultation]  IN  COLLABORATION with the director of the New York state
 military museum and veterans resource center, the  commissioner  of  the
 office  of parks, recreation and historic preservation, the commissioner
 of the office of general services  [and],  the  state  historian,  STATE
 ARCHIVIST, AND RELEVANT AGENCIES AND STATEWIDE VETERAN ORGANIZATIONS AND
 LOCAL POSTS AND CHAPTERS OF SUCH VETERAN ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS MUNIC-
 IPAL  ASSOCIATIONS.  The registry shall be made available on the depart-
 ment's website.
   2. The registry shall consist of a searchable AND FILTERABLE  database
 of those [veterans] VETERAN'S memorials AND MONUMENTS located within the
 state  submitted  pursuant  to  subdivision  three  of this section. The
 registry shall include, but not be limited to, information regarding the
 location, HISTORY, SIGNIFICANCE, AND ANY AVAILABLE IMAGES of [a  memori-
 al]  SUCH  VETERAN'S MEMORIALS AND MONUMENTS, and who or what veteran or
 battle such memorial is honoring.  Additional  information  may  include
 historical information such as who authorized the erection of such memo-
 rial  OR MONUMENT and the year of the dedication. Such registry shall be
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02553-02-5
 A. 3397--A                          2
              

 
 searchable AND FILTERABLE by  location,  veteran  [or],  CONFLICT,  ERA,
 battle, WAR OR ANY OTHER CRITERIA THE STATE COMMISSIONER DEEMS RELEVANT.
   3.  The state commissioner shall issue, on behalf of the department, a
 public request for information for any county, city,  town,  or  village
 desiring  to  have any memorial OR MONUMENT located within their munici-
 pality listed within the registry. Each county,  city,  town[,  or]  AND
 village may submit responses to the department's request for information
 at  any time after the request for information has been issued. Individ-
 uals and organizations, including but not limited  to,  local  veterans'
 service  agencies  staff and members of congressionally chartered veter-
 ans' service organizations may provide recommendations to a municipality
 for inclusion in the registry. In responding to the department's  public
 request for information, a municipality shall identify [the memorial or]
 ANY  memorials AND MONUMENTS it desires to have included in the registry
 and submit any information required pursuant to subdivision two of  this
 section  to the department. THE REGISTRY SHALL BE UPDATED PROMPTLY AFTER
 THE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES SUBMITTED MEMORIAL AND MONUMENT INFORMATION.
   § 2. Section 4 of the veterans' services law is amended  by  adding  a
 new subdivision 40 to read as follows:
   40.  TO  MAKE  AVAILABLE  TO ALL GOVERNING BODIES OF EACH MUNICIPALITY
 VIA, AMONG OTHER THINGS, PUBLICATIONS ON THE DEPARTMENT'S  WEBSITE,  THE
 FREE  MOBILE  APPLICATION ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWENTY-ONE
 OF THIS SECTION, AND LOCAL VETERANS' SERVICE AGENCIES ESTABLISHED PURSU-
 ANT TO SECTION FOURTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE, INFORMATION REGARDING  THE  NEW
 YORK STATE VETERAN'S MEMORIAL AND MONUMENT REGISTRY ESTABLISHED PURSUANT
 TO SECTION TWENTY-NINE-A OF THIS ARTICLE. SUCH INFORMATION COVERED UNDER
 THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE MAINTAINED AND UPDATED ANNUALLY.
   §  3.  The  commissioner  of the New York city department of veterans'
 services established pursuant to title thirty-one of the  administrative
 code of the city of New York shall, in consultation with the commission-
 er  of  the  New  York  city department of parks established pursuant to
 title eighteen of the administrative code  of  the  city  of  New  York,
 consider making submissions to the registry pursuant to this act.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.