Requires boards of visitors provide greater transparency to the public regarding such boards' activities including when it meets and providing materials to the public.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10384
SPONSOR: Rules (Bichotte Hermelyn) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring boards
of visitors provide greater transparency to the public regarding such
boards' activities
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to enhance transparency and public account-
ability of the boards of visitors by mandating that these boards provide
detailed and accessible information about their meetings, procedures,
and activities. This legislation seeks to ensure that the activities and
findings of the boards are readily accessible to the public.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends subdivisions (d), (f), and (j) of section 13.33 of
the mental hygiene law. This amendment specifies the roles and responsi-
bilities concerning the election of board officers and the notification
process about these elections. It establishes a clear protocol for the
scheduling and notification of regular bi-monthly meetings, including
the publication of meeting dates and board activities on the office's
website. The amendments further detail the procedures for addressing the
non-attendance of board members at meetings, including the notification
process and potential consequences of repeated absences.
Section 2. Effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:.
Current procedures and communications of the boards of visitors are not
sufficiently transparent, limiting the public's ability to understand
and engage with the governance of state facilities that oversee mental
hygiene. By requiring these boards to publicly post and report their
activities, meeting schedules, and procedural bylaws, this bill ensures
that stakeholders, including patients' families and advocacy groups,
have the necessary information to effectively participate in and monitor
these institutions. Additionally, the introduction of strict require-
ments for reporting member attendance and activities helps in maintain-
ing the integrity and accountability of these boards.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
becomes law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10384
IN ASSEMBLY
May 21, 2024
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A.
Bichotte Hermelyn) -- read once and referred to the Committee on
People with Disabilities
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring boards
of visitors provide greater transparency to the public regarding such
boards' activities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions (d), (f) and (j) of section 13.33 of the
2 mental hygiene law, as amended by section 4 of part J of chapter 56 of
3 the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
4 (d) Each board shall, at the first meeting of each calendar year elect
5 one member to serve as president of the board and one member to serve as
6 secretary; provided however, that no member may serve for more than two
7 consecutive years as president. After such election of the president
8 and secretary, each board shall inform the governor, the speaker of the
9 assembly and the temporary president of the senate of such new president
10 and secretary.
11 (f) (1) Each board of visitors shall hold six bi-monthly regular meet-
12 ings annually, but a greater number of regular meetings may be scheduled
13 by the board. Each board of visitors shall establish in their by-laws or
14 otherwise, in writing and at the first meeting of each calendar year,
15 whether these six meetings shall be held during months represented by
16 odd numbers or months represented by even numbers. The president of the
17 board shall notify [the chairman of the commission on quality of care
18 and advocacy for persons with disabilities] the executive director of
19 the justice center for the protection of people with special needs and
20 the [state operations director] commissioner of the determination made
21 concerning the designated months for the six bi-monthly regular meet-
22 ings. The dates of such meetings shall be posted on the office's
23 website and shall be made available to the public. The president of the
24 board, the commissioner, [the director,] or the members as determined by
25 the rules of the board may call special meetings. The board may [require
26 the director] request the commissioner, or such commissioner's designee,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15169-01-4
A. 10384 2
1 to submit a report at each meeting. Each board shall keep a record of
2 its proceedings and activities. A member of a board of visitors who has
3 failed to attend three consecutive bi-monthly regular meetings shall be
4 considered to have vacated [his] such member's office unless otherwise
5 ordered by the governor. The board shall cause notice of any of its
6 public meetings to be sent to the mental hygiene legal service located
7 in the same judicial department as the state operations office. The
8 mental hygiene legal service may send a representative to any such
9 public meeting, and may request the board to review patient complaints
10 or investigate alleged incidents of abuse or mistreatment. The board
11 shall notify the appropriate representative of the mental hygiene legal
12 service of the board's actions and findings in relation to any such
13 request. Meeting minutes, agendas, proceedings, activities, by-laws and
14 actions by each board shall be posted on the office's website and shall
15 be made available to the public.
16 (2) The president of the board of visitors shall notify a member by
17 certified or registered mail return receipt requested when such member
18 of the board has failed to attend any two consecutive bi-monthly regular
19 meetings. This notice shall be sent within ten days following the second
20 meeting and shall include the dates of the two meetings which were
21 missed, the date of the next bi-monthly regular meeting, and a statement
22 concerning the consequences of failure to attend the next meeting.
23 (3) Within three days after the third consecutive absence at a
24 bi-monthly regular meeting by a member, the president of the board of
25 visitors shall notify, in writing, the governor, the commissioner, the
26 [chairman of the commission on quality of care and advocacy for persons
27 with disabilities] executive director of the justice center for the
28 protection of people with special needs, the temporary president of the
29 senate and the [state operations director] speaker of the assembly of
30 such absences. The president of the board of visitors shall send a copy
31 of this notice by registered or certified mail return receipt requested
32 to the member to whom it pertains. The member may petition the governor
33 to excuse [his] such member's absences. If the governor does not excuse
34 the absences within forty-five days of the date of the third consecutive
35 meeting absence, the office of the member shall be deemed vacated.
36 (j) Once each year, each board shall make an independent assessment of
37 conditions at such facilities and shall submit a report on the assess-
38 ment and recommendations to the governor, to the commissioner, to the
39 temporary president of the senate, to the speaker of the assembly and to
40 the [chairman of the state commission on quality of care and advocacy
41 for persons with disabilities] executive director of the justice center
42 for the protection of people with special needs.
43 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
44 it shall have become a law.
