S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10196
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 24, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. JEAN-PIERRE, BARRETT -- read once and referred to
   the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, the military law and the civil rights
   law,  in  relation  to  certificates  of  honorable separation from or
   service in the armed forces of the United States
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivisions  24  of section 353 of the executive law, as
 added by chapters 481 and 571 of the laws of 2019, are renumbered subdi-
 visions 25 and 26 and a new subdivision 27 is added to read as follows:
   27. A CERTIFICATE OF RELEASE OR DISCHARGE FROM ACTIVE DUTY  WHICH  WAS
 ISSUED  BY  THE  UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND DELIVERED TO THE DIVISION,
 SHALL BE FORWARDED TO THE APPROPRIATE LOCAL  VETERANS'  SERVICE  AGENCY,
 BASED  UPON  THE  MAILING ADDRESS AFTER SEPARATION NOTED ON SUCH CERTIF-
 ICATE, WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF RECEIPT. SUCH TRANSMISSION MAY BE MADE ELEC-
 TRONICALLY.  INFORMATION  CONTAINED  IN  SUCH  CERTIFICATES   SHALL   BE
 PROTECTED  AS  PERSONAL  CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION UNDER ARTICLE SIX-A OF
 THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW AGAINST DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL, AND
 USED ONLY FOR INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE WITH REGARDS TO STATE  BENEFITS
 AND ENTITLEMENTS UNDER FEDERAL AND STATE LAW.
   § 2. Section 250 of the military law, as amended by chapter 298 of the
 laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
   § 250. Recording  certificates of honorable discharge. Any certificate
 issued after April sixth, nineteen hundred seventeen, of  the  honorable
 separation  from  or service in the armed forces of the United States of
 any veteran, may be recorded in any one county, in  the  office  of  the
 county clerk, and when so recorded shall constitute notice to all public
 officials  of  the  facts set forth therein. It shall be the duty of the
 county clerk to record the certificate upon presentation thereof without
 the payment of any fee. For any purpose for which the  original  certif-
 icate  may be required in the state of New York, a certified copy of the
 record shall be deemed sufficient and shall be accepted in lieu thereof.
 Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of law, it shall be the duty
 of the county clerk of each county, to furnish  without  charge  to  any
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15348-02-0

 A. 10196                            2
 
 veteran,  or parent, spouse, dependent or child of the veteran, a certi-
 fied copy of the certificate of the veteran so recorded in the office of
 the county clerk. No filed  certificate  or  any  information  contained
 therein,  shall be disclosed to any person except the veteran or parent,
 spouse, dependent or child of the veteran, representative of the  estate
 of the deceased veteran, AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF A FUNERAL FIRM,
 AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION  THIRTY-FOUR  HUNDRED OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW,
 WHICH ASSISTS WITH THE BURIAL OF A VETERAN, or a public official, acting
 within the scope of his or her employment,  unless  such  disclosure  is
 authorized  in  writing  by  the veteran. The provisions of this section
 also apply to the counties within the city of New York.
   § 3. Section 79-g of the civil rights law is amended by adding  a  new
 subdivision c to read as follows:
   C. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION IN THIS SECTION TO THE CONTRARY, SUCH
 CERTIFICATE SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION AND COPYING IN
 ACCORDANCE  WITH  THE ARCHIVAL SCHEDULE ADOPTED BY THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
 AND RECORD ADMINISTRATION (NARA) TOGETHER WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPART-
 MENT OF DEFENSE (DOD), SIGNED ON JULY EIGHTH, TWO THOUSAND EIGHT, MAKING
 THE OFFICIAL MILITARY PERSONNEL FILES PERMANENT RECORDS  OF  THE  UNITED
 STATES. SUCH SCHEDULE MANDATES THE LEGAL TRANSFER OF SUCH FILES FROM DOD
 OWNERSHIP  TO  NARA OWNERSHIP SIXTY-TWO YEARS AFTER THE SERVICE MEMBER'S
 SEPARATION FROM THE MILITARY.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 section  two  of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth
 day after it shall have become a law; provided, further, that if chapter
 571 of the laws of 2019 shall not have taken effect on  or  before  such
 date then the renumbering of subdivision 24 of section 353 of the execu-
 tive  law,  as  added  by  such chapter, made by section one of this act
 shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as such  chap-
 ter  of the laws of 2019, takes effect. Effective immediately, the addi-
 tion, amendment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary  for
 the  implementation  of this act on its effective date are authorized to
 be made and completed on or before such effective date.