What's happening
This bill creates a Behavioral Health Services for Veterans Advisory Board to study and recommend improvements to veterans' behavioral health services in New York.
Why it matters
Creates an official body dedicated to regularly assessing whether current behavioral health services for veterans are adequate, and identifying gaps or unmet needs. this means the challenges veterans face in accessing mental health and substance abuse care will be specifically studied rather than assumed.
Requires the advisory board to collaborate with multiple state agencies. (including mental health, substance abuse, and health departments)—this cross-agency cooperation could lead to more coordinated and effective services for veterans, rather than fragmented efforts.
Mandates a formal report with recommendations to the governor and legislature. , ensuring that findings and suggestions for improvement are delivered directly to policymakers—this increases the chances that identified needs for expanded or improved services will actually inform future state policy and funding decisions.
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
Veterans seeking behavioral health care
The bill would create an advisory board to assess existing services and recommend expanded or improved care for veterans.
State veterans and health agencies
The division, Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Health and Department of Mental Hygiene would cooperate with the board on its analysis.
Veterans’ behavioral health providers
The board would examine the adequacy of existing services and the need for new services, potentially informing recommendations affecting their work.
Governor and legislative leaders
They would appoint the nine-member board, which would report findings and recommendations to the governor and Legislature by October 1, 2020.
Headline styles
Study Veterans Mental Health Needs
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
4 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to veterans' affairs
- Referred to veterans' affairs
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3174
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, GUNTHER, COLTON, WEPRIN, COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to enacting the "behavioral health services for veterans act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "behavioral health services for veterans act".
§ 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 368-a to read as follows:
§ 368-a. Behavioral health services for veterans advisory board. 1. There is hereby established within the division, a behavioral health services for veterans advisory board. Such board shall consist of nine members, three of whom shall be appointed by the governor, two of whom shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, two of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly, one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the senate and one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the assembly. Such members shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Vacancies on the board shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment. Members of the board shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
2. The behavioral health services for veterans advisory board shall study and analyze both the adequacy of existing and the need for new behavioral health services for veterans. In providing such analysis, the board shall work in cooperation with the division, the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, the department of health and the department of mental hygiene. The board shall report the findings of such study to the governor and the legislature along with recommenda-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07232-01-9
A. 3174 2
tions it deems necessary for expanded and improved behavioral health services on or before October first, two thousand twenty.
§ 3. This act shall take effect April 1, 2020. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.