Requires reporting to the New York state police of a suspected or perceived threat concerning biological, chemical or radiological agents

Title of bill

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to the reporting of biological, chemical and radiological threats

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill would require the reporting of chemical, biological and radiological threats to the State Police.

Summary of specific provisions

This bill would amend the Executive Law to require all police agencies to report any chemical, biological or radiological threat to the Division of State Police.

Justification

: In the last few years, there has been a marked increase in the instances of both actual and alleged cases of Anthrax dissemination through the U.S. Mail. Most to date have proven to be non-credible threats involving hoax cases of biological infection (white powder) spread through mail.

The purpose of the reporting requirement provided in this bill is not to enable the State Police to take over such cases, but to merely create a centralized database. It is critical for New York State to capture information regarding these types of incidents statewide for many reasons, including:

* Identification of trends or patterns;

* Enhanced perspective of future response needs;

* Connection of related incidents that may cross jurisdictional/investigative agency boundaries; and

* Statistical compilation for additional federal funding justification for New York State.

Additionally, information regarding any incident involving a suspected or perceived Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) agent (radiological, biological or chemical) should be tracked in this manner.

Creation of this required reporting mechanism will allow New York to begin gathering and compiling reliable data on these types of incidents.

Prior legislative history

: 2008 - S3797 - Referred to Standing Committee on Finance.

Fiscal implications

None Noted.

Effective date

: This act would take effect immediately.