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History
- Referred to codes
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 47–7
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.510
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to designating members of the security force of Mary Imogene Bassett hospital network as peace officers
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor William Magee
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to granting peace officer status to officers and members of the security force of the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital Network
Purpose
To enhance the safety of patients, medical personnel and the public by granting peace officer status to the hospital's security officers.
Summary of provisions
Section one creates a new subdivision in the criminal procedure law to outline the limited terms and conditions under which peace officer status would be granted to security officers at the Bassett Healthcare Network. It lists the powers that might be exercised by such peace officers only on, or immediately adjacent to, the grounds and properties of the hospital, its affiliates and clinics.
Existing law
Section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law lists those who may be designated as peace officers. A modified or limited peace officer status has been granted by statute in the past to security officers at various hospitals and health care facilities. Most recently, chapters 502 and 504 of the Laws of 2012 granted peace officer status to security officers of Kaleida Health and the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Justification
Mary Imogene Hospital, also known as Bassett Healthcare Network, affiliated with Columbia Medical School, operates and maintains six hospitals and multiple clinics across a large geographic area in rural portions of the state, where, in some cases, no local police department exists and where medical personnel experience extended response times by state or county law enforcement.
Medical staff and personnel are experiencing increased numbers of dangerous encounters that require prompt law enforcement response. Behavioral emergencies within the Bassett Network involving violence increased by more than 300 percent between 2014 to 2015. Typical emergencies may include unauthorized individuals seeking narcotics, disruptive actions by psychiatric patients, threatening behaviors by noncustodial parents, etc. The extended response times that may occur jeopardize the safety of patients, students, visitors and medical and support staff.
It should be noted that Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, in addition to serving as an acute care facility, is also an educational institution and a psychiatric hospital - a teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia Medical School. Its responsibility for safety is broad and multifaceted.
Bassett Healthcare Network's request has the support of local, county and state law enforcement agencies.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective date
Ninety days after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.