NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4873

Senate Bill S4873

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires an independent firm to conduct a study on the OPWDD eligibility criteria and determinations following diagnostic evaluations by a licensed professional and distribution of services

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 13, 2025	referred to disabilities

2025-S4873 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3410
Current Committee:: Senate Disabilities
Law Section:: Mental Hygiene
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S8759
2023-2024: S3137, A9869

2025-S4873 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the commissioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities to work with an independent firm to allow such firm to conduct a study on the OPWDD eligibility criteria and determinations following diagnostic evaluations by a licensed professional and distribution of services.

2025-S4873 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4873

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to requiring the commissioner of the office for
people with developmental disabilities to work with an independent firm
to allow such firm to conduct a study on the number of New York state
residents in need of disability services and the office for people with
developmental disabilities' eligibility criteria and determinations
following diagnostic evaluations by a licensed professional and distrib-
ution of services

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to require an independent firm to conduct on
the number of state residents in need of disability services and the
Office for People with Developmental Disabilities' (OPWDD) eligibility
criteria and determinations.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill would require the Commissioner of the OPWDD to
work with an independent firm to conduct a comprehensive study analyzing
the number of New York state residents in need of disability services
and the effect of using the adaptive behavior assessment system to
determine the eligibility for services. A report must be submitted to
the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the
temporary president of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate,
and the governor's office of employee relations, and make the report
publicly available on the office's website no later than one year after
the effective date of this section.

The report shall include, but is not limited to, the number of persons
with a developmental disability in New York State that qualify for
services through OPWDD within the past five years, the number of persons
with a developmental disability who have applied for services and were
deemed ineligible through OPWDD within the past five years, and the
number of persons with a developmental disability who used the adaptive
behavior assessment system as their diagnostic evaluation for determin-
ing eligibility within the past five years.  The report must also
include, the number of persons with a developmental disability who used
the adaptive behavior assessment system to determine eligibility and did
not receive services from OPWDD due to scoring above the threshold of
eligibility within the past five years, recommendations based on the
findings from the report as to whether the state can take additional
action to ensure those in need of services provided OPWDD that are
eligible. The office is required to separate its findings regionally to
target underserved areas.

OPWDD may conduct this study in conjunction with any other department,
division board, bureau, commission, agency, or public authority of the
state they deem necessary. The OPWDD commissioner is authorized to
request, receive, and utilize resources and data from any of those
departments. OPWDD shall promulgate rules and regulations as may be
necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.

Section 2 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take
effect immediately.
 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities'
report from 2020, over 120,000 people receive OPWDD Medicaid services.
This makes up 95 percent of their served population and is an approxi-
mate 13 percent increase from 2014. Those receiving services have multi-
ple diagnoses, including, but not limited to Autism Spectrum Disorder,
Cerebral Palsy, and Epilepsy.  This legislation requires that the OPWDD
commissioner works with an independent firm to study the number of New
York state residents in need of disability services and the office for
people with developmental disabilities' eligibility criteria and deter-
minations following diagnostic evaluations by a licensed professional
and distribution of services. The data found while conducting the study
will be put into a report and separated regionally so OPWDD can target
underserved areas in the state and will include recommendations for
improvements within OPWDD.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S8759

2023-24: S3137/ A9869

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S4873 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4873
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 13, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FAHY  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Disabilities
 
 AN ACT in relation to requiring  the  commissioner  of  the  office  for
   people  with  developmental  disabilities  to work with an independent
   firm to allow such firm to conduct a study on the number of  New  York
   state  residents  in  need  of  disability services and the office for
   people  with  developmental  disabilities'  eligibility  criteria  and
   determinations  following diagnostic evaluations by a licensed profes-
   sional and distribution of services
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. 1. The commissioner of the office for people with develop-
 mental disabilities shall work with an independent firm  to  allow  such
 firm  to  conduct  a comprehensive study analyzing the office for people
 with developmental disabilities, the number of New York state  residents
 in  need of disability services and the effectiveness of using the adap-
 tive behavior assessment system to determine  eligibility  for  services
 and  submit a report to the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader
 of the assembly, the temporary president of  the  senate,  the  minority
 leader  of  the  senate and the governor's office of employee relations,
 and make publicly available on the office's website no  later  than  one
 year after the effective date of this section.
   2. (a) Such report shall include, but not be limited to:
   (i)  the number of persons with a developmental disability in New York
 state who qualified for services through  the  office  for  people  with
 developmental disabilities within the last five years;
   (ii)  the  number  of persons with a developmental disability who have
 applied for services and were deemed ineligible through the  office  for
 people with developmental disabilities within the last five years;

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06705-01-5
 S. 4873                             2

   (iii)  the  number of persons with a developmental disability for whom
 the adaptive behavior assessment system determined their eligibility for
 services within the last five years;
   (iv)  the  number  of persons with a developmental disability for whom
 the adaptive behavior assessment system determined  their  ineligibility
 for  services from the office for people with developmental disabilities
 due to scoring above the threshold of eligibility within the  last  five
 years  and  who completed the office for people with developmental disa-
 bilities' appeal process after being deemed ineligible;
   (v) the number of persons with a developmental disability who appealed
 their ineligibility determination and ultimately received services  from
 the office for people with developmental disabilities;
   (vi)  an  analysis of eligibility requirements, services determination
 process, and any other processes deemed necessary for review within  the
 scope of such report; and
   (vii)  recommendations  based  on  the  findings from the report as to
 whether the state can take additional action to ensure those in need  of
 services  provided by the office for people with developmental disabili-
 ties are deemed eligible.
   (b) The independent firm shall separate their findings in such  report
 regionally to assist in targeting the areas that are most underserved.
   3.  For the purposes of this section, the independent firm may conduct
 such study in conjunction with any other  department,  division,  board,
 bureau,  commission,  agency,  or  public  authority of the state deemed
 necessary.   To the maximum extent feasible,  the  commissioner  of  the
 office for people with developmental disabilities shall be authorized to
 request,  receive,  and  utilize  such  resources  and data of any other
 department, division,  board,  bureau,  commission,  agency,  or  public
 authority  of  the  state as such commissioner may reasonably request to
 properly carry out their powers and duties pursuant to this section.
   4. The commissioner of the office for people with developmental  disa-
 bilities  shall  promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary to
 effectuate the provisions of this section.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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