Renames the advisory council on underage alcohol consumption and authorizes the council to address issues of substance abuse among youth.

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S4846-2011 Actions

• Jun 16, 2011: SUBSTITUTED BY A6815
• May 25, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• May 24, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• May 23, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.797
• Apr 27, 2011: REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

S4846-2011 Meetings

Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities: May 23, 2011

S4846-2011 Calendars

Floor Calendar: May 24, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 25, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 1, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 7, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 13, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 14, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 15, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 16, 2011

S4846-2011 Votes

S4846-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S4846

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to renaming the advisory
council on underage alcohol consumption and authorizing such council to
address the issue of substance use among youth

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to
authorize the Advisory Council on Underage Alcohol Consumption to
address the issue of youth substance abuse.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill would rename the
council to be the advisory council on underage alcohol consumption
and youth substance abuse and would expand the duties of the council
to address the issue of youth substance abuse.

Section 2 of the bill states the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
Overall youth substance use is on the rise. According
to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Association (SAMHSA)
2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), after a number
of years of declining use, overall youth drug use for youth 12 years
old and older rose by nine percent.

Data from the NSDUH and the most recent Monitoring the Future study
show that marijuana use, which had been rising among teens for the
past two years, continued to rise in 2010 for grades 8, 10, and 12.
There has also been a significant increase in the number of young
adults using prescription drugs non-medically. In 2010 the National
Institute of Drug Abuse reported that after marijuana use,
prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications account for most
of the top drugs abused by 12th graders in the past year. In New York
State a survey conducted in 2008 by the Office of Alcoholism and
Substance Abuse Services found that prescription pain killer abuse is
higher in New York compared to the national rate (18% of NYS high
school seniors vs. 13% nationally).

Underage drinking among America's youth remains high. Alcohol remains
the most heavily abused substance by America's youth. Approximately
6.9 million teens are considered binge drinkers, typically meaning
they drank more than five drinks on occasion, and more than two
million are classified as heavy drinkers.

This bill would authorize the Advisory Council on Underage Alcohol
Consumption to address the issues of substance abuse among New York
State's youth.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Not yet determined.


EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S4846-2011 Text

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

                                    4846

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                               April 27, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  KLEIN  -- 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,  in  relation  to  renaming  the
    advisory  council on underage alcohol consumption and authorizing such
    council to address the issue of substance use among youth

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


    Section  1. Section 19.06 of the mental hygiene law, as added by chap-
  ter 275 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:

  S 19.06 Advisory council  on  underage  alcohol  consumption  AND  YOUTH
            SUBSTANCE ABUSE.
    1. Definitions. As used in this section:

    (a)  "Council"  shall  mean  the  advisory council on underage alcohol
  consumption AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE created by this section.
    (b) "Chairperson" shall mean the chairperson of the  advisory  council
  on underage alcohol consumption AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE.
    2.   Advisory  council  on  underage  alcohol  consumption  AND  YOUTH
  SUBSTANCE ABUSE.  There is hereby created an advisory council on  under-
  age  alcohol  consumption  AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE.  The council shall
  consist of twenty-one members, who are  broadly  representative  of  the
  various groups in society which are stakeholders in the effort to combat
  underage  alcohol  consumption AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE.  Seven members
  shall be appointed by the governor, seven members by the temporary pres-
  ident of the senate and seven members by the speaker of the assembly. In
  making such appointments, due consideration shall be given to the recom-
  mendations made by representative civic, educational, legal and advocacy
  groups and associations concerned with, or  otherwise  engaged  in,  the
  representation  of  the  interests  of  the youth of New York state. The
  commissioner, the chairman of the state liquor  authority,  the  commis-
  sioner  of  mental health, the attorney general, the temporary president

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD10583-02-1

 S. 4846                             2

  of the senate and the  speaker  of  the  assembly  shall  be  ex-officio
  members of the council.
    3. Term of office for council members. (a) The term of office for each
  member  of  the  council  shall  be  two years. Vacancies in the council
  occurring, other than by expiration of a term, shall be filled  for  the
  remainder  of the unexpired term in the same manner as original appoint-
  ments.
    (b) At the beginning of each two year term, the members of the council
  shall choose one member of the council  to  be  a  chairperson  and  one
  member  to be vice-chairperson. The members of the council shall receive
  no compensation for their services, but  shall  be  reimbursed  for  all
  expenses actually and necessarily incurred by them in the performance of
  their  duties  under  this  section  within the amount made available by
  appropriation therefor.
    4. Powers and duties of  the  council.  The  council  shall  have  the
  following powers and duties:

    (a)  To receive information with respect to, and to study and analyze,
  incidents  of  underage  consumption  of  alcoholic   beverages,   YOUTH
  SUBSTANCE  ABUSE, and to examine the elements of such incidents to iden-
  tify those factors that are consistently associated with such behavior;
    (b) To identify and analyze the responses  to  underage  drinking  AND
  YOUTH  SUBSTANCE  ABUSE  made  by  governmental officials, including law
  enforcement officials and prosecutors, and to make recommendations as to
  whether such responses appear to be achieving decreases in the incidence
  of such behavior, and if not,  whether  it  appears  that  a  change  is
  required in policies and procedures;
    (c)  To  conduct  public hearings as may be necessary to carry out its
  functions under this section;
    (d) To make recommendations with respect to the following:

    (i) educational programs to teach children  the  dangers  of  underage
  drinking AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE;
    (ii)  training  programs for law enforcement officials and prosecutors
  to sensitize them to  the  special  nature  of  youth-related  crime  to
  encourage them to develop appropriate responses;
    (iii)  the  appropriateness  and  effectiveness  of existing civil and
  criminal laws in redressing underage drinking AND YOUTH SUBSTANCE  ABUSE
  and any changes that should be made in such laws; and
    (iv)  such  other  matters as may be deemed appropriate by the council
  after consultation with involved parties;
    (e) To promulgate any necessary rules of order or procedures  relating
  to  the  administration  and performance of the powers and duties of the
  council pursuant to this section; and
    (f) To perform all other tasks necessary and convenient to  carry  out
  the  functions,  powers  and duties of the council and to effectuate the
  purposes of this section.
    5. Report. The council shall submit a written report to the  governor,
  temporary  president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly by no
  later than October first of the year next succeeding the effective  date
  of  this  section and annually thereafter, setting forth the recommenda-
  tions and activities of the council on matters within the scope  of  its
  powers and duties as set forth in this section.
    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.