NY State Senate Bill 2021-S8567

Senate Bill S8567

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Relates to certificates of honorable separation from or service in the armed forces of the United States

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Veterans, Homeland Security And Military Affairs 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 14, 2022	referred to veterans, homeland security and military affairs

2021-S8567 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1782
Current Committee:: Senate Veterans, Homeland Security And Military Affairs
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §353, Exec L; amd §250, Mil L; amd §79-g, Civ Rts L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S8792, A10196
2023-2024: S5416, A3093

2021-S8567 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to certificates of honorable separation from or service in the armed forces of the United States; provides that such certificates shall be forwarded to the appropriate local veterans' service agency within 60 days of receipt.

2021-S8567 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8567

SPONSOR: BROOKS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that local veterans'
service agencies are notified upon the return home of service men and
women in order to facilitate a better connection to services available
to veterans.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

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 subdivisions
25 and 26 and adds a new subdivision requiring 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 certificate, within sixty days of
receipt.

Section 2: Section 250 of the military law, as amended by chapter 298 of
the 15 laws of 2005, is amended to declare who has as access to the
certificate of release or discharge issues by the United States govern-
ment from a veteran who has deceased

Section 3: Section 79-g of the civil rights law is amended to specify
that the availability of such certificates be done in accordance with
the National Archives and Record Administration archival schedule and
the United States Department of Defense.

Section 4. is the enacting clause.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Upon returning home from active duty, the first weeks and months can
prove to be among the most difficult for our servicemen and women. In
New York, many vital veterans' services are administered at the county-
level. Requiring the Division of Veterans' Services to provide a copy of
a certificate of release or discharge from active duty (DD-214 form) to
the appropriate local veterans' service agency, based upon the mailing
address after separation noted on such certificate and upon the release
of such veteran from active duty, will enhance the ability of the local
county veterans' services agencies to contact these veterans and connect
them to the vast array of resources they may need.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
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. Effective immediately, the additional, or
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.

2021-S8567 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8567
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 14, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BROOKS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
   ty and Military 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03688-01-1
 S. 8567                             2
 
 of  the  county  clerk  of each county, to furnish without charge to any
 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.  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.

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