What's happening
This bill creates a fund to reinvest state prison savings into expanding community-based chemical dependence treatment and prevention services.
Why it matters
Directs prison cost savings into local chemical dependence services. By mandating that money saved from reduced prison populations funds community-based treatment, the bill ties criminal justice reform to direct investment in public health infrastructure.
Creates accountability and oversight for how savings are spent. An independent actuarial review will annually calculate actual state prison savings, ensuring transparency about the amount available for reinvestment and requiring regular reporting to state leadership.
Ensures funds expand treatment rather than replace existing resources. The bill specifies that new funding must supplement, not supplant, current treatment program budgets—helping to prevent backdoor budget cuts and guaranteeing real growth in available services.
Builds in community and interagency input. By establishing an interagency council with diverse representation—including service providers, consumers, and family members—the legislation seeks to align new investments with actual needs, especially for those reentering communities after incarceration.
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Fund Community Addiction Services
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to mental health and developmental disabilities
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.660
- Referred to mental health and developmental disabilities
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.
Fund Community Addiction Services
In Assembly Committee · Alcoholism And Drug Abuse · Sponsor Steven Cymbrowitz
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4009
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 1, 2017
Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law and the state finance law, in relation to the reinvestment of funds into community-based services for persons suffering from chemical dependence
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative intent and findings. The legislature finds that declines in the state prison inmate census, due to the utilization of alternatives to incarceration and changes in the sentencing laws for persons convicted of drug offenses, create concomitant demand and strain on community-based chemical dependence treatment services.
The legislature also finds that as state expenditures for incarcerated individuals are reduced due to the aforementioned interventions, it is necessary and appropriate to establish a dedicated fund, comprised of those savings, which will be reinvested into the development and expansion of community-based chemical dependence treatment and prevention programs.
The legislature further finds that as it is well established that chemical dependence prevention and treatment is the most effective response to chemical abuse and addiction and the resulting criminal offenses, the availability of effective prevention and treatment programs should be a prominent component of the state's response.
§ 2. Section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new subdivision 59 to read as follows:
59. "Community chemical dependence reinvestment services" shall include chemical dependence services as defined in subdivision fiftyfive of this section.
§ 3. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 22.12 to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04246-01-7
S. 4009 2
§ 22.12 Community reinvestment program.
(a) The commissioner of the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall plan, promote, establish, develop, coordinate, evaluate, and conduct programs and services of prevention, diagnosis, examination, care, treatment, rehabilitation, education and vocational training, and research for the benefit of individuals who suffer from and/or are at risk for chemical dependence. Such programs shall be licensed or approved by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services and shall include but not be limited to inpatient, residential, half-way house, outpatient, methadone maintenance treatment, emergency, rehabilitative, educational and vocational and other appropriate treatment, prevention and support services.
(b) All moneys received or accepted pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the chemical dependence reinvestment fund established pursuant to section ninety-five-i of the state finance law.
(c) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, in approving funds pursuant to section ninety-five-i of the state finance law, the commissioner of the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall consider the extent to which local governmental units have maintained local contributions for expenditures in any local fiscal year for local or unified services, as applicable, provided to persons diagnosed with chemical dependence and made pursuant to this article, at a level equal to or greater than the amount expended that fiscal year. Such commissioner shall be authorized to reduce payments made to local governmental units which have received grants pursuant to this section, in the following fiscal year for failure to maintain expenditures. Funds annually appropriated by the legislature for community chemical dependence reinvestment services are intended to pay for the development, expansion, and operation of community chemical dependence services. Annual community chemical dependence reinvestment funds shall not be used to supplant or replace community chemical dependence costs of any provider that were previously paid from the prior year's office of alcoholism and substance abuse services general fund appropriations for the identical purpose.
(d) There is hereby established the state interagency council on chemical dependence reinvestment fund utilization. This council shall develop and implement a schedule for studying chemical dependence prevention and treatment programs, focusing on the availability of such programs and whether these programs adequately meet the needs of those inmates released from department of corrections facilities. Further, this council shall recommend any needed expansions to chemical dependence treatment programs. By January first of the year following implementation of this section, this council shall report its finding to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly. Such council shall operate independently and shall consist of a chairperson, chosen by the council members, and the commissioners of the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, the office of court administration, the division of criminal justice services, the department of corrections and community supervision, and the office of children and family services. The council shall also consist of nine representatives selected from the following three communities as follows: three representatives from the service provider community; three representatives from the consumer community; and three representatives who shall be family members of consumers. One representative from each of these three communities shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate,
S. 4009 3
the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly and the minority leader of the senate.
§ 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 95-i to read as follows:
§ 95-i. Chemical dependence reinvestment fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance a fund to be known as the chemical dependence reinvestment fund.
2. Moneys of the fund, following appropriation by the legislature and allocation by the director of budget, shall be available to the commissioner of the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services for the development, expansion and operation of new and expanded community chemical dependence services, including but not limited to, services rendered to persons mandated into chemical dependence treatment in lieu of incarceration by the criminal justice system. Specific amounts shall be made available for appropriation upon determinations made by such commissioner. Such funds made available to the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services may also be used to develop state operated services, including emergency and crisis services, case management service, education and vocational services, services for homeless chemically-addicted persons with and/or at risk for HIV infection, HIV-related illnesses or AIDS, persons dually-diagnosed with chemical dependence and mental illness, other hard to serve populations, and other specialized services as approved by such commissioner.
§ 5. Each year an independent actuarial accounting of the savings generated from declines in the state prison census shall be conducted and the results reported to the governor, the division of the budget, the senate finance committee and the assembly ways and means committee no later than one year following the effective date of this act.
§ 6. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the mental hygiene law and the state finance law, in relation to the reinvestment of funds into community-based services for persons suffering from chemical dependence
Purpose
This bill will reinvest savings realized from the reduction in costs associated with the incarceration of drug offenders into community based treatment, prevention, education, and job skill training programs for alcohol and substance abusers.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one of this bill provides for the legislative intent and findings as related to the decline in the state prison inmate census, due to the utilization of alternatives to incarceration and changes in sentencing laws for persons convicted of drug offenses, as well as the benefits of chemical dependence prevention.
Read the full memo (1,229 words)
Section two of this bill amends Mental Hygiene Law section 1.03 by adding a new subdivision 59. This subdivision defines the term "community chemical dependence reinvestment services."
Section three of this bill amends the Mental Hygiene Law by adding section 22.12 entitled "Community reinvestment program." Subdivision (a) directs the Commissioner of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services ("OASAS") to plan, promote, develop, evaluate and conduct programs and services of prevention, diagnosis, examination, care, treatment, rehabilitation, education and research for individuals who suffer from and/or are at risk for chemical dependence. Subdivision (b) states that all money received or accepted pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the chemical dependence reinvestment fund that is established pursuant to State Finance Law section 99-v. Subdivision (c) states that in approving funds pursuant to this section the Commissioner of OASAS shall consider the extent that local governments have maintained local contributions for expenditures for local services provided to persons diagnosed with chemical dependence. Subdivision (d) establishes the state interagency council on chemical dependence reinvestment fund utilization, which will be charged with development and implementation of a schedule for studying chemical dependence prevention and treatment programs.
Section four of this bill amends the State Finance Law by adding new section 95-i. Subdivision 1 provides that the Chemical Dependence Reinvestment Fund is established in the joint custody of the Comptroller and the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance. Subdivision 2 provides that following appropriation by the, Legislature, moneys held in the fund shall be available to the Commissioner of OASAS for community chemical dependence services.
Section five of this bill provides that each year and independent actuarial accounting of the savings generated from the declines in the state prison census shall be conducted and the results reported to the Governor, the Division of the Budget, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee no later than one year following the effective date.
Section six of this bill provides that this act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Justification
Alcoholism and substance abuse is one of our State and Nation's leading public health problems, costing many billions of dollars and untold suffering in many families and every community. Recent studies by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services ("OASAS") and other leading researchers have documented the dramatic successes of treatment and prevention in reducing not just alcohol and drug dependence and abuse, but also crime, AIDS, welfare, homelessness and other health and social ills.
Expanded alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and prevention will be the linchpin of any successful effort to reform our State's drug laws, as Courts and prosecutors must have additional resources available so they can divert appropriate addicted offenders from prison. Unfortunately, New York State has failed to adequately fund our existing base of alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and prevention programs. These programs have struggled throughout the past decade to maintain their place as the leading providers of those services in the Nation as budget cuts and lack of resources to address inflation and additional administrative requirements erode their very foundation. Treatment and prevention programs, as well as vocational and job skill training programs, need additional resources to be able to recruit and retain staff, install computer technology, and otherwise meet administrative requirements. The State's goal of assisting the many thousands of addicted offenders and their families who will need treatment, prevention, and job training services as a result of Rockefeller Drug Law Reform will not be realized unless we stabilize our existing community system.
This bill will address all these issues by providing the resources necessary to support the existing foundation of our Nation-leading alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and prevention system, as well as develop the necessary capacity to provide services to the thousands of people diverted from prison every year by sentencing reform.
Successful outcomes from the treatment of alcoholism and substance abuse are to be expected if the addicted individual receives the appropriate level of care for the proper duration of time and with the necessary aftercare. The single greatest predictor of treatment success is length of stay in treatment. The OASAS outcomes data demonstrates dramatic decreases in problem behaviors after six months in treatment. Drug and alcohol use decreases dramatically as does use of expensive healthcare (ER, inpatient hospital stay), arrests, incarceration, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and other undesirable behaviors. Employment increases, dependency on public assistance decreases, and quality of life improve after six months or more of treatment.
OASAS licensed community-based treatment is essential for public safety and public health. Releasing inmates or diverting arrestees without a strong treatment and job training component will pose a considerable public risk. Community-based treatment provides a therapeutic structure that increases dramatically the likelihood that a person will remain drug/alcohol free and become a law abiding, productive citizen.
This bill utilizes savings created by Rockefeller Drug Law Reform to strengthen base funding for existing alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and prevention programs (licensed or approved by OASAS) and to expand those services to address the needs of persons targeted by drug law reform and their families. The full continuum of OASAS licensed, certified, or approved alcoholism and substance abuse treatment, prevention, and vocational services will be supported by the reinvestment fund. Treatment services include outpatient, day treatment, inpatient, residential, emergency and crisis services, detoxification (inpatient and community-based), methadone and other pharmacotherapy, halfway houses and supportive living, aftercare services, services for homeless chemically addicted persons, services for persons with dual disorders, services for chemically-addicted persons with and/or at risk for or HIV infection, HIV-related illness or AIDS, and other hard to serve populations. Core treatment services, monitoring and reporting progress to the courts, and necessary ancillary services will be eligible for support.
Reinvestment is the best way to fund a major initiative to make treatment the first option in addressing behaviors related to addiction. Reinvestment has been crucial to the strengthening of New York State's mental health system.
Prior legislative history
2016: S.3229-A - Referred to Alcoholism and Drug Abuse 2015: S.3229 - Referred to Alcoholism and Drug Abuse 2013-14: S.4452 - Referred to Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities 2011-12: S.2201-A - Reported to Finance 2009-10: S.2193 - Referred to Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities 2008: S.7228 - Referred to Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities
Fiscal implications
To be determined
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.