N.Y. Mental Hyg. Law § 13.05

§ 13.05 Developmental disabilities advisory council.\n (a) There is hereby established a developmental disabilities advisory\ncouncil. The council shall consist of the commissioner, the chairman of\nthe conference of local mental hygiene directors or his or her designee,\nand at least thirty-three members to be appointed by the governor.\nBeginning on and after June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-two, the\ncouncil shall consist of thirty-five members, including the\ncommissioner, the chairman of the conference of local mental hygiene\ndirectors or his or her designee, four members to be appointed by the\ntemporary president of the senate, four members to be appointed by the\nspeaker of the assembly, one member to be appointed by the minority\nleader of the senate, one member to be appointed by the minority leader\nof the assembly and twenty-three members to be appointed by the\ngovernor. Any current member shall be allowed to finish his or her term.\nThe commissioner shall oversee and assist with the transition to the\nmakeup of the council after such date, ensuring that as current members'\nterms expire, the council appoints members in the manner set forth in\nthis subdivision. Members shall be appointed only if they have\ndemonstrated an active interest in or have obtained professional\nknowledge in the care of persons with developmental disabilities or in\nthe field of developmental disabilities generally. The governor shall\ndesignate one of the appointed members as chair. The council shall at\nall times include in its membership representatives of community service\nboard developmental disabilities subcommittees, providers of services\nand non-governmental organizations concerned with services for persons\nwith developmental disabilities. At least one-third of the membership of\nthe advisory council shall consist of consumer representatives including\npersons with developmental disabilities, or their parents or guardians.\n (b) Members shall be appointed for terms of three years provided,\nhowever, that of the members first appointed, one-third shall be\nappointed for one year terms and one-third shall be appointed for two\nyear terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as prescribed\nin subdivision (a) of this section. The designation of a member as chair\nshall be made bi-annually.\n (c) The developmental disabilities advisory council shall have no\nexecutive, administrative or appointive duties. The council shall have\nthe duty to foster public understanding and acceptance of developmental\ndisabilities. It shall, in cooperation with the commissioner of\ndevelopmental disabilities, provide recommendations for statewide\npriorities and goals for services for individuals with developmental\ndisabilities and shall advise the commissioner on matters related to\ndevelopment and implementation of the statewide comprehensive plan as\nrequired under section 5.07 of this chapter. The advisory council shall\nhave the power to consider any matter relating to the improvement of the\nstate developmental disabilities program and shall advise the\ncommissioner of developmental disabilities thereon and on any matter\nrelating to the performance of their duties with relation to individuals\nwith developmental disabilities and on policies, goals, budget and\noperation of developmental disabilities services.\n 1. The council shall establish such committees as deemed necessary by\nthe chair with advice from the commissioner. Such committees shall\nconsider matters related to the various service populations served, and\nprograms certified by the office, as well as other matters, including\nplanning, fiscal, and consumer affairs. The council shall prepare and\nissue such reports on its activities as deemed necessary.\n 2. The council shall meet at least four times in each full calendar\nyear. The council shall meet at the request of its chair or the\ncommissioner.\n (d) Members of the advisory council shall receive no compensation for\ntheir services but shall be reimbursed for all expenses actually and\nnecessarily incurred by them in the performance of their duties.\n (e) At least thirty days prior to his or her final approval of\nregulations, other than emergency regulations, the commissioner shall\nsubmit proposed regulations to the council for its review. The council\nshall review all proposed regulations and report its recommendations on\nthe proposed regulations to the commissioner within thirty days. Such\nperiod may be extended upon the agreement of the commissioner.\n (f) The council shall assist the commissioner of developmental\ndisabilities with the development and assessment of the triennial state\ndevelopmental disabilities plan issued by the office. To ensure the full\nuse of existing specialized and generic services in the community, to\nensure that all providers and appropriate local governmental agencies\nare involved, and to ensure that local services to persons with\ndevelopmental disabilities and their families are readily available and\naccessible, the council shall periodically assess the local planning\nprocess and make recommendations thereon to the commissioner and to the\ncouncil for mental hygiene planning.\n * (g) The developmental disabilities advisory council shall produce a\nreport to review the impact and the state's response to the COVID-19\nstate disaster emergency, as declared by executive order two hundred two\nof two thousand twenty, as it relates to individuals with intellectual\nor developmental disabilities. The office and the department of health\nshall provide technical assistance and access to data as is required for\nthe council to effectuate such review and produce such report. The\nreport shall include, but not be limited to:\n (i) a timeline and inventory of any and all relevant executive orders,\nguidance and regulations put forth by the department of health, the\noffice, the executive or any other agency between March first, two\nthousand twenty and April first, two thousand twenty-one in response to\nthe COVID-19 outbreak;\n (ii) a timeline of any outreach conducted by the office with\nstakeholders, including self-advocates, family advocates and voluntary\nproviders and what, if any, changes to guidance were made as a result of\nsuch communication with stakeholders;\n (iii) any actions or guidance the office, the department of health\nand/or any other agency took to minimize exposure of COVID-19 between\nresidents and staff;\n (iv) an inventory of actions the office, the department of health\nand/or any other agency took to assist in the procurement or\nprovisioning of personal protective equipment for residents and staff in\nstate operated facilities, and facilities operated by voluntary\nproviders. For purposes of this section, "personal protective equipment"\nshall mean all equipment worn or used to minimize exposure to a\ncommunicable disease, including but not limited to gloves, masks and\nface shields;\n (v) an inventory of costs incurred by the office related to responding\nto COVID-19;\n (vi) an inventory of actions the office, the department of health\nand/or any other agency took to assist underserved communities including\nbut not limited to racial and ethnic minority communities; and\n (vii) specific challenges that were faced with regards to individuals\nwith intellectual and developmental disabilities.\n (2) The developmental disabilities advisory council shall also\nevaluate policies, procedures, and programs that were implemented during\nthe course of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine the efficacy on safety.\n (3) The developmental disabilities advisory council shall provide\nrecommendations of changes to any laws or regulations that impeded\nresponse to COVID-19 to the legislature.\n (4) Such report shall be submitted to the governor, the temporary\npresident of the senate and the speaker of the assembly no later than\nnine months from the effective date of this subdivision and shall be\nmade publicly available online.\n * NB Repealed 10 days after transmission of the report of the findings\nby the developmental disabilities advisory council to the governor, the\ntemporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly\n (h) The developmental disabilities advisory council shall publish a\ncomprehensive summary of information about their activities to the\noffice's website annually, in an accessible format. Such information\nshall include, at minimum:\n 1. actions taken to foster public understanding and acceptance of\ndevelopmental disabilities;\n 2. recommendations made to the commissioner related to statewide\npriorities and goals for services for individuals with developmental\ndisabilities, and the implementation of the statewide comprehensive plan\nas required under section 5.07 of this chapter; and\n 3. any other actions taken by the council related to their duties.\n