What's happening
Writing a plain-English summary… Track this bill to get it by email.
Why it matters
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to aging
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.1095
- Referred to aging
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 requests for criminal history information from the office for the aging of prospective volunteers and paid employees
In Assembly Committee · Aging · Sponsor Steven Cymbrowitz
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the elder law and the executive law, in relation to the review of criminal history information by the state office for the aging of prospective volunteers and paid employees
Purpose of the bill
This bill would provide the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) with authority to subject prospective volunteers and employees of programs administered by the NYSOFA to criminal background checks and to receive the results of these checks from the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).
Summary of provisions
The bill would create a new Section 224 of the Elder Law (EL) to establish NYSOFA as an "authorized agency" under Section 845-B of the Executive Law. This will enable NYSOFA to receive reports of criminal history information regarding certain prospective employees and volunteers from the Division of Criminal Justice Services. The receipt of such information by the Office shall be governed by the provisions of Section 845-B of the Executive Law.
Section 845-B of the Executive Law would also be amended to identify the Office as an authorized agency to receive the results of the background check, to identify the Office as an agency authorized to also receive criminal history information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and to make reference to the newly-added section of the Elder Law in all provisions specific to the handling of criminal history information received from the FBI.
Existing law
NYSOFA currently has no authority to access criminal history information.
Legislative history
None.
Statement in support
Many programs administered by NYSOFA rely heavily on assistance from local and regional employees and volunteers, many of whom are granted direct and unsupervised contact with the older adults served by these programs. While this population is widely recognized as including a large number of vulnerable individuals, with several federal and state laws addressing the need for protection of this population, NYSOFA currently lacks the authority to properly screen those persons granted access to older adults.
This bill would provide NYSOFA with the authority to receive and review criminal history information of those persons who, as employees or volunteers, will represent NYSOFA at the local and regional levels by providing direct services to older adults through NYSOFA programs. This will provide additional protections to the older population which NYSOFA serves, and will help NYSOFA avoid subjecting members of that population to unnecessary risk.
Fiscal implications
None.
Local impact
None.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.