S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1149
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              January 9, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. SIMON, GLICK, TAYLOR, CUNNINGHAM, COOK, REYES,
   SHIMSKY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental Health
 
 AN ACT to require the New York State Office of Mental  Health  to  study
   the effects that awareness of or exposure to police shootings or kill-
   ings  of unarmed African Americans has on the mental health of African
   Americans in New York state and to deliver a finding of the results of
   such study to the governor and the legislative leaders
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. 1. The New York State Office of Mental Health shall conduct
 a study of the effects that awareness of or exposure to police shootings
 or  killings  of  unarmed  African Americans has on the mental health of
 African Americans in New York state. The study shall:
   (a) identify the mental health risks and harm  that  awareness  of  or
 exposure  to  police  shootings or killings of unarmed African Americans
 has on the self-reported mental health of adults in the state;
   (b) compare the differences between the self-reported mental health of
 African Americans aware of or exposed to such shootings or killings with
 the self-reported mental health of other ethnic or racial  groups  aware
 of  or  exposed to such shootings or killings, including but not limited
 to Hispanic or Latino, Black, White, Asian or Pacific Islander groups;
   (c) in assessing such harm or risks, utilize data from the Centers  of
 Disease  Control,  the  Prevention  Behavioral  Risk Factor Surveillance
 System (PBRFSS), and the Mapping Police Violence (MPV); database
   (d) contain recommendations as to how to  increase  accessibility  and
 affordability  of  mental  health  professionals  for  racial and ethnic
 minorities, including African Americans; and
   (e) contain recommendations as to how to decrease stigma, if  any,  of
 mental health and mental health treatment in racial and ethnic minority,
 including African American, communities.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02828-01-5
 A. 1149                             2
              

 
   2.  No  later than January 1, 2026 the New York State Office of Mental
 Health shall prepare and submit to the governor, the temporary president
 of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader  of  the
 senate  and the minority leader of the assembly, a report containing the
 study's  findings  and  recommendation  for legislative or other actions
 that can be undertaken to address the mental health risks and harm iden-
 tified by the study.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.