Directs the commissioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities to deny employment or volunteer applications based on a criminal history report for such applicant.

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S2301-2013 Actions

• Jan 15, 2013: REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

S2301-2013 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S2301

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the mental hygiene law and the
executive law, in relation to directing the commissioner of the office
for people with developmental disabilities to promulgate regulations
authorizing the denial or disapproval of certain employment or
volunteer applications following a criminal history report for such
applicant

PURPOSE:  The purpose of this bill is to keep individuals with a
history of violence or criminal records from working with patients at
OPWDD facilities.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one amends section 13.19 of the mental hygiene law by adding a
new subdivision (e) requiring a criminal history report for any
prospective employee to have direct patient contact.

Section two amends subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law
which addresses supply of criminal history reports at no cost to
include those requested under mental hygiene law.

JUSTIFICATION:  Those working at the homes which care for the disabled
in the state have a very difficult job. Unfortunately, there have been
recent cases, including the 2007 death of Jonathan Carey at the O.D.
Heck facility, near Albany, where the 13 year old autistic boy was
suffocated to death by an employee there who had a criminal record.

According to a NY Times article entitled. "A Disabled Boy's Death, and
a System in Disarray," the standards for hiring at these facilities is
very low. This puts our most vulnerable population at risk, and we
must do our part to ensure they are not harmed by the very people we
hire to take care of them.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  2012: S.6326 - Reported to Finance/A.8667 -
Referred to Mental Health

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect immediately.

S2301-2013 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    2301

                         2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              January 15, 2013
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop-
    mental Disabilities

  AN ACT to amend the  mental  hygiene  law  and  the  executive  law,  in
    relation  to  directing the commissioner of the office for people with
    developmental disabilities to promulgate regulations  authorizing  the
    denial  or disapproval of certain employment or volunteer applications
    following a criminal history report for such applicant

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section  1.    Section  13.19  of the mental hygiene law is amended by
  adding a new subdivision (e) to read as follows:

    (E) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL  PROMULGATE  REGULATIONS  (I)  REQUIRING  A
  CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT FOR ANY PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEE OR VOLUNTEER IN THE
  OFFICE  WHO WILL HAVE REGULAR DIRECT PATIENT CONTACT; AND (II) AUTHORIZ-
  ING THE DENIAL OR DISAPPROVAL  OF  ANY  APPLICATION  FOR  EMPLOYMENT  OR
  VOLUNTEER  SERVICE  IN  THE OFFICE FOR A POSITION THAT WILL HAVE REGULAR
  DIRECT PATIENT CONTACT WHERE A CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT  CONCERNING  SUCH
  PROSPECTIVE  EMPLOYEE  OR VOLUNTEER REVEALS A CONVICTION FOR ANY OFFENSE
  THE COMMISSIONER DETERMINES WOULD  MAKE  SUCH  PROSPECTIVE  EMPLOYEE  OR
  VOLUNTEER UNFIT FOR EMPLOYMENT BY THE OFFICE.
    S  2.  Subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law, as amended
  by chapter 561 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:

    8-a. Charge a fee when, pursuant to statute or the regulations of  the
  division,  it  conducts  a  search  of  its criminal history records and
  returns a report thereon in connection with an application  for  employ-
  ment  or for a license or permit. The division shall adopt and may, from
  time to time, amend a schedule of such fees which shall  be  in  amounts
  determined  by  the  division  to  be  reasonably related to the cost of
  conducting such searches and returning reports thereon but, in no event,
  shall  any  such  fee  exceed  twenty-five  dollars  and  an  additional

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD03885-01-3

 S. 2301                             2

  surcharge  of  fifty  dollars.  The  comptroller is hereby authorized to
  deposit such fees into the general fund,  provided,  however,  that  the
  monies received by the division of criminal justice services for payment
  of  the  additional surcharge shall be deposited in equal amounts to the
  general fund  and  to  the  fingerprint  identification  and  technology
  account.  Notwithstanding  the foregoing, the division shall not request
  or accept any fee for searching its records  and  supplying  a  criminal
  history report pursuant to section two hundred fifty-one-b of the gener-
  al  business  law relating to participating in flight instruction at any
  aeronautical facility, flight school or institution of higher  learning,
  NOR  FOR  SEARCHING  ITS RECORDS AND SUPPLYING A CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT
  PURSUANT TO REGULATIONS  ADOPTED  UNDER  SECTION  13.19  OF  THE  MENTAL
  HYGIENE LAW.
    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.