S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2608
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 23, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN ACT establishing the COVID-19 nursing home commission  to  provide  a
   non-partisan  investigation of the Cuomo administration and department
   of health's conduct with regard to nursing homes during  the  COVID-19
   pandemic

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative findings. On March 25, 2020, the department  of
 health  issued guidance that "no (nursing home) resident shall be denied
 re-admission or  admission  to  the  nursing  home  solely  based  on  a
 confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19." The guidance also prohib-
 ited nursing homes from requiring a hospitalized resident who was deter-
 mined  to  be medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admis-
 sion or readmission.
   Over the summer, serious questions began  to  surface  about  how  the
 Cuomo  administration  and  New  York  state's  department of health was
 counting COVID-19 deaths of nursing home patients. This came to  a  head
 on  August  26,  2020,  when the department of justice stated they would
 initiate investigations under  the  civil  rights  of  institutionalized
 persons  act  (CRIPA)  regarding  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Michigan and
 Pennsylvania's responses to COVID-19 in public nursing homes.
   On January 28, 2021, the New York state office of the attorney general
 released a bombshell report that determined the Cuomo administration had
 undercounted deaths in nursing homes due to COVID-19 by as much as fifty
 percent.
   This bombshell report was followed by a shocking  revelation  made  by
 secretary  to the governor, Melissa DeRosa, during a closed door meeting
 with members of the majority conferences of the  legislature,  in  which
 the secretary admitted the Cuomo administration "froze" when the depart-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05523-01-3
 S. 2608                             2
              

 
 ment  of  justice  requested information on how the Cuomo administration
 responded to COVID-19 in nursing homes.
   This  commission  is  established  to determine whether a cover-up was
 occurring within the governor's administration during the months follow-
 ing the March 25th department of health guidance and whether any  uneth-
 ical or criminal behavior occurred during that time.
   The  commission  will  be  comprised  of  four district attorneys from
 across the state, each appointed by a legislative leader.
   The commission will publicize a report  with  a  detailed  account  of
 their  activities  and  findings. Due to the lack of transparency coming
 out of the Cuomo administration and the department of  health  over  the
 past  several months, it is incumbent that this report be made public to
 try to gain back some of the public's trust.
   § 2. Definitions. As used in this act, "nursing home" means a  nursing
 home as defined in section 2801 of the public health law.
   §  3.  COVID-19  nursing home commission. a. A temporary state commis-
 sion, to be known as the COVID-19 nursing  home  commission,  is  estab-
 lished  to  investigate the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing
 homes in this state. The commission is hereby created to investigate the
 Cuomo administration and the  New  York  state  department  of  health's
 response  to  COVID-19  in  nursing  homes,  specifically decisions made
 before and after the  March  25,  2020  department  of  health  guidance
 outlined in section one of this act.
   b. (i) The commission shall consist of four members to be appointed as
 follows: one member shall be appointed by the temporary president of the
 senate,  one  member  shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly,
 one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the  senate  and
 one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the assembly.
   (ii)  All  appointees  to  the commission shall be a current or former
 district attorney of a county of this state.
   (iii) All members of the commission shall be appointed within ten days
 of the effective date of this act.
   (iv) The commission may employ and at pleasure remove personnel, as it
 may deem necessary for the performance of its functions  and  fix  their
 compensation within the amounts made available by appropriation thereof.
   (v)  The  members  of the commission shall receive no compensation for
 their services but shall be allowed their actual and necessary  expenses
 incurred in the performance of their duties hereunder. Nothing contained
 herein  shall  prohibit a member of the commission from receiving his or
 her salary earned due to their county or state employee position.
   (vi) The commission shall be entitled to request and receive and shall
 utilize and be provided with such facilities, resources and data of  any
 court, department, division, board, bureau, commission, agency or public
 authority  of  the  state or any political subdivision thereof as it may
 reasonably request to properly carry out its powers and duties  pursuant
 to this act.
   (vii)  The  commission  may administer oaths or affirmations, subpoena
 witnesses, compel their attendance, examine them under oath or  affirma-
 tion  and  require  the  production  of any books, records, documents or
 other evidence it may deem relevant or material to the investigation.
   § 4. Report. The commission shall  make  a  report  of  its  findings,
 including,  but  not  limited  to any ethical or criminal violations the
 commission believes were committed. The report shall provide a  detailed
 account  of  the  activities  and findings of the commission. The report
 shall be submitted to the  governor,  the  temporary  president  of  the
 senate,  the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate,
 S. 2608                             3
 
 the minority leader of the assembly  and  the  office  of  the  attorney
 general  and  shall be published on the office of the attorney general's
 website.
   §  5.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately and shall be deemed
 repealed upon the commission's submission of the report to the governor,
 the legislature and the office of the attorney general as  provided  for
 in  section  four  of  this act; provided that the COVID-19 nursing home
 commission shall notify the legislative bill  drafting  commission  upon
 the  occurrence  of  the  delivery of the report provided for in section
 four of this act in order that the commission may maintain  an  accurate
 and  timely  effective data base of the official text of the laws of the
 state of New York in  furtherance  of  effectuating  the  provisions  of
 section  44  of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public offi-
 cers law.