NY State Senate Bill 2019-S2632

Senate Bill S2632

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Requires a criminal history report for certain employment or volunteer applicants to the office for people with developmental disabilities

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Mental Health And Developmental Disabilities Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to mental health and developmental disabilities
Jan 28, 2019	referred to mental health and developmental disabilities

2019-S2632 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Mental Health And Developmental Disabilities
Law Section:: Mental Hygiene Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §13.19, Ment Hyg L; amd §837, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S6326
2013-2014: S2301
2015-2016: S3847
2017-2018: S6289
2021-2022: S4923
2023-2024: S4208

2019-S2632 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the commissioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities to deny employment or volunteer applications based on a criminal history report for such applicant.

2019-S2632 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S2632

SPONSOR: LANZA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the mental hygiene law and the executive law, in
relation to directing the commissioner of developmental disabilities to
promulgate regulations authorizing the denial or disapproval of certain
employment or volunteer applications following a criminal history report
for such applicant

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to keep individuals with a history of
violence or criminal records from working with patients at OPWDD facili-
ties.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one amends section 13.19 of the mental hygiene law by adding a
new subdivision (e) requiring a criminal history report for any prospec-

tive employee to have direct patient contact.

Section two amends subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law
which addresses supply of criminal history reports at no cost to include
those requested under mental hygiene law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Those working at the homes which care for the disabled in the state have
a very difficult job. Unfortunately, there have been recent cases,
including the 2007 death of Jonathan Carey at the O.D. Heck facility,
near Albany, where the 13 year old autistic boy was suffocated to death
by an employee there who had a criminal record.

According to a NY Times article entitled. "A Disabled Boy's Death, and a
System in Disarray," the standards for hiring at these facilities is
very low. This puts our most vulnerable population at risk, and we must
do our part to ensure they are not harmed by the very people we hire to
take care of them.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018: S.6289- Referred to Finance
2017: S.6289- Referred to Rules
2016: S.3847- Passed Senate/A.3367 - Referred to Mental Health
2015: S.3847- Passed Senate/A.3367 - Referred to Mental Health
2014: S.2301- Referred to Mental Health & Developmental
Disabilities/A.865 Referred to Mental Health
2012: S.6326 - Reported to Finance/A.8667 - Referred to Mental Health

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S2632 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2632
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 28, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop-
   mental Disabilities
 
 AN ACT to amend the  mental  hygiene  law  and  the  executive  law,  in
   relation  to  directing the commissioner of developmental disabilities
   to promulgate regulations authorizing the  denial  or  disapproval  of
   certain  employment  or  volunteer  applications  following a criminal
   history report for such applicant
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.    Section  13.19  of the mental hygiene law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision (e) to read as follows:
   (E) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL  PROMULGATE  REGULATIONS  (I)  REQUIRING  A
 CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT FOR ANY PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEE OR VOLUNTEER IN THE
 OFFICE  WHO WILL HAVE REGULAR DIRECT PATIENT CONTACT; AND (II) AUTHORIZ-
 ING THE DENIAL OR DISAPPROVAL  OF  ANY  APPLICATION  FOR  EMPLOYMENT  OR
 VOLUNTEER  SERVICE  IN  THE OFFICE FOR A POSITION THAT WILL HAVE REGULAR
 DIRECT PATIENT CONTACT WHERE A CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT  CONCERNING  SUCH
 PROSPECTIVE  EMPLOYEE  OR VOLUNTEER REVEALS A CONVICTION FOR ANY OFFENSE
 THE COMMISSIONER DETERMINES WOULD  MAKE  SUCH  PROSPECTIVE  EMPLOYEE  OR
 VOLUNTEER UNFIT FOR EMPLOYMENT BY THE OFFICE.
   §  2.  Subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law, as amended
 by chapter 561 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
   8-a. Charge a fee when, pursuant to statute or the regulations of  the
 division,  it  conducts  a  search  of  its criminal history records and
 returns a report thereon in connection with an application  for  employ-
 ment  or for a license or permit. The division shall adopt and may, from
 time to time, amend a schedule of such fees which shall  be  in  amounts
 determined  by  the  division  to  be  reasonably related to the cost of
 conducting such searches and returning reports thereon but, in no event,
 shall  any  such  fee  exceed  twenty-five  dollars  and  an  additional
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD07424-01-9

 S. 2632                             2
 
 surcharge  of  fifty  dollars.  The  comptroller is hereby authorized to
 deposit such fees into the general fund,  provided,  however,  that  the
 monies received by the division of criminal justice services for payment
 of  the  additional surcharge shall be deposited in equal amounts to the
 general fund  and  to  the  fingerprint  identification  and  technology
 account.  Notwithstanding  the foregoing, the division shall not request
 or accept any fee for searching its records  and  supplying  a  criminal
 history report pursuant to section two hundred fifty-one-b of the gener-
 al  business  law relating to participating in flight instruction at any
 aeronautical facility, flight school or institution of higher  learning,
 NOR  FOR  SEARCHING  ITS RECORDS AND SUPPLYING A CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT
 PURSUANT TO REGULATIONS  ADOPTED  UNDER  SECTION  13.19  OF  THE  MENTAL
 HYGIENE LAW.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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