S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2694
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 17, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. BRESLIN -- 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-
 ries. The task force will coordinate the integration of data compiled by
 law enforcement agencies and health care providers, related  to  firearm
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07544-01-7

 S. 2694                             2
 
 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.
   §  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.
   § 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.
   § 4. The task force shall provide a report to  the  governor  and  the
 legislature on or before January 15, 2019. 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
 network  comprised  of firearm violence and injury data as reported from
 state and local law enforcement agencies and health care providers,  and

 S. 2694                             3
 
 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.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on Febru-
 ary 1, 2019 when it shall be deemed repealed.