BILL NUMBER:  S7029

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to granting
peace officer status to officers and members of the security force of
the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital Network

 PURPOSE :

To enhance the safety of patients, medical personnel and the public by
granting peace officer status to the hospital's security officers.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one creates a new subdivision in the criminal procedure law to
outline the limited terms and conditions under which peace officer
status would be granted to security officers at the Bassett Healthcare
Network. It lists the powers that might be exercised by such peace
officers only on, or immediately adjacent to, the grounds and
properties of the hospital, its affiliates and clinics.

 EXISTING LAW :

Section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law lists those who may be
designated as peace officers. A modified or limited peace officer
              

status has been granted by statute in the past to security officers at
various hospitals and health care facilities. Most recently, chapters
502 and 504 of the Laws of 2012 granted peace officer status to
security officers of Kaleida Health and the University of Rochester
Medical Center.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Mary Imogene Hospital, also known as Bassett Healthcare Network,
affiliated with Columbia Medical School, operates and maintains six
hospitals and multiple clinics across a large geographic area in rural
portions of the state, where, in some cases, no local police
department exists and where medical personnel experience extended
response times by state or county law enforcement.

Medical staff and personnel are experiencing increased numbers of
dangerous encounters that require prompt law enforcement response.
Behavioral emergencies within the Bassett Network involving violence
increased by more than 300 percent between 2014 to 2015. Typical
emergencies may include unauthorized individuals seeking narcotics,
disruptive actions by psychiatric patients, threatening behaviors by
noncustodial parents, etc. The extended response times that may occur
jeopardize the safety of patients, students, visitors and medical and
support staff.

It should be noted that Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, in addition to
serving as an acute care facility, is also an educational institution
and a psychiatric hospital - a teaching hospital affiliated with
Columbia Medical School. Its responsibility for safety is broad and
multifaceted.

Bassett Healthcare Network's request has the support of local, county
and state law enforcement agencies.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the state.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Ninety days after enactment.