S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                   812

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 7, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced by Sens. BRESLIN, HASSELL-THOMPSON, KRUEGER, PARKER, SAMPSON,
  STAVISKY  --  read  twice  and ordered printed, and when printed to be
  committed to the Committee on Health

AN ACT to establish a task force to assess the public health  impact  of
  firearm  violence  and  injury  and  providing  for the repeal of such
  provisions upon expiration thereof

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds and
declares  that  firearm  injuries  and  deaths  have  reached   epidemic
proportions,  with  firearm  injuries ranked among the top ten causes of
death among all Americans, and as the leading cause of death among young
African-American males. The legislature further finds and declares  that
this   epidemic  necessitates  public  policies  which  address  firearm
violence and injury as a public  health  issue  and  that  one  critical
component  of such policies is an integrated and comprehensive statewide
effort to accurately document  the  origins,  incidence  and  nature  of
firearm violence and injury in New York state.
  The  legislature  also finds that dispersed and widely varied data and
information related to  incidents  of  firearm  violence  are  presently
collected by state and local law enforcement agencies; and that informa-
tion  and  data  related  to  the nature, severity and causes of firearm
injuries are also regularly compiled by health care providers engaged in
the treatment of such injuries. The legislature finds and declares  that
a  coordinated and fully integrated statewide network of data and infor-
mation is required to fully assess the public health impact  of  firearm
violence  and  injury  in  New  York  state and to formulate policies to
combat such violence and injury in the protection of public health.
  The legislature hereby establishes a task force to devise a  statewide
network  of  data  and information related to firearm violence and inju-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD05444-01-5

S. 812                              2

ries. The task force will coordinate the integration of data compiled by
law enforcement agencies and health care providers, related  to  firearm
violence  and  injury.  This task force will be comprised of appropriate
state agency personnel, law enforcement authorities, health care provid-
ers,  and experts in the fields of epidemiology and ballistics. The task
force will assess the nature and current methods by which  data  related
to firearm violence and injury are compiled and reported by law enforce-
ment  agencies and health care providers. The task force shall recommend
any changes in the nature or manner in which such data is  compiled  and
reported,  to facilitate an on-going, statewide assessment of the public
health impact of firearm violence and injury in New York state.
  S 2. An eight member  task  force  is  hereby  established  to  assess
current  data  and information compiled by law enforcement personnel and
health providers related to incidents of firearm  violence  and  injury,
and  to  recommend  mechanisms  by  which  an integrated, statewide data
collection and tracking system may be established to assess  the  public
health impact of such violence and injury.
  S  3.  The  task  force shall be comprised of the commissioners of the
department of health and the division of criminal justice services,  who
may designate representatives to act on their behalf.
  The  commissioner of the department of health or the designee thereof,
shall chair the task force. The governor shall appoint  two  members  to
the task force: one member shall be an epidemiologist experienced in the
study  of  firearm injuries and one member shall be an expert in firearm
ballistics. The temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the
assembly shall each appoint one member to the task force who shall be  a
member  of a state or local law enforcement agency. The minority leaders
of the senate and assembly shall each appoint one  member  to  the  task
force,  who  shall  be  a  health care provider regularly engaged in the
treatment of firearm injuries. Administrative duties of the  task  force
shall be the responsibility of the department of health.
  S  4.  The  task  force shall provide a report to the governor and the
legislature on or before January 15, 2017. Such report shall include:
  (a) an identification of the data and informational  needs  associated
with  an assessment of firearm violence and injury as an issue of public
health in New York state;
  (b) an identification of any differences among  state  and  local  law
enforcement  agencies in the collection and reporting of information and
data related to firearm violence and injury,  the  basis  for  any  such
differences, and how such differences may be addressed;
  (c)  an  identification of any differences among health care providers
and in particular, emergency medical services providers, with regard  to
the collection and reporting of firearm injury data and information, the
basis for such differences, and how such differences may be addressed;
  (d)  an  assessment  of the need for improved epidemiological data and
information concerning firearm injuries, including  information  on  the
frequency  and  distribution  of such injuries and the specific types of
firearms associated with various injuries;
  (e) an identification of any opportunities for, or barriers to, a more
uniform statewide approach to the collection and reporting of  data  and
information  from  both law enforcement agencies and health care provid-
ers, concerning incidents of firearm violence and injury, with full  and
proper  regard  to  the  protection  of  the  rights  of victims of such
violence and injury and the rights of criminal defendants;
  (f) a recommendation of a state agency to  assume  responsibility  for
the  planning  and  coordination  of  a  statewide  data and information

S. 812                              3

network comprised of firearm violence and injury data as  reported  from
state  and local law enforcement agencies and health care providers, and
designed to be used in formulating public  health  strategies  to  deter
firearm violence and injuries; and
  (g)  an  identification of public health policies and strategies which
may arise from a statewide  data  and  information  network  on  firearm
violence  and  injuries,  and focused on the prevention of such violence
and injuries.
  The task force shall meet as frequently as its  business  may  require
and  members  of  the task force shall receive no compensation for their
services, but shall be  allowed  their  actual  and  necessary  expenses
incurred in performance of their duties.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on Febru-
ary 1, 2017 when it shall be deemed repealed.