What's happening
This bill creates a statewide Veteran Suicide Mortality Review Board to study veteran suicides, identify systemic factors, and recommend prevention strategies.
Why it matters
Creates a dedicated, multidisciplinary body to study veteran suicides. , which means New York will have a systematic and coordinated approach to understanding the unique factors affecting veteran mental health and suicide risk.
Mandates access to comprehensive records (medical, mental health, coroner, VA, etc.). , giving the board a fuller picture of each case and enabling a deeper analysis of systemic failures or gaps in care that may not be visible through limited data sources.
Focuses on both immediate case review and broader, evidence-based prevention strategies. , so recommendations will be informed by real data and trends rather than anecdote or assumption, potentially making interventions more effective and targeted.
Requires annual public reporting of findings and recommendations (with privacy protections). , which increases government accountability and transparency while providing actionable insights for policymakers, advocacy groups, and service providers working to prevent veteran suicides.
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Who cares
Veterans and Their Families
This group is directly impacted as the board’s goal is to prevent suicides among veterans, identify systemic challenges, and recommend improvements to mental health and support services.
Veterans’ Service Organizations and Advocacy Groups
Organizations dedicated to veteran wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention will care about the board’s findings and its influence on state policy and service delivery.
State and Local Health and Mental Health Agencies
These agencies are stakeholders because they will provide data, collaborate on reviews, and may be tasked with implementing the board’s recommendations for systemic improvements.
Medical Examiners, Coroners, and Clinicians
Those involved in investigating deaths and providing mental health care will participate in the board and be affected by changes to protocols, reporting, and prevention practices.
Headline styles
Create Veteran Suicide Review Board
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 23
History
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.309
- Substituted for A9645A
- Referred to ways and means
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 60–0
- Amended on third reading (t) 8968a
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.225
- Referred to veterans, homeland security and military affairs
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.
Create Veteran Suicide Review Board
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Charles Lavine
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8968--A Cal. No. 225
IN SENATE
January 21, 2026
Introduced by Sens. SCARCELLA-SPANTON, ADDABBO, GALLIVAN, ROLISON -read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs -reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to establishing a veteran suicide mortality review board
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new article 79-A to read as follows:
ARTICLE 79-A
VETERAN SUICIDE MORTALITY REVIEW BOARD Section 79.51 Veteran suicide mortality review board; establishment and
purpose.
79.53 Membership.
79.55 Powers and duties.
79.57 Reporting.
79.59 Staffing and resources. § 79.51 Veteran suicide mortality review board; establishment and purpose.
1. There is hereby established within the office, in consultation with the department of health and the department of veterans' services, a veteran suicide mortality review board, hereinafter "the board".
2. The board is authorized to conduct a multidisciplinary review of suicide deaths among veterans and shall perform the following tasks:
(a) identify trends and systemic factors contributing to veteran suicide;
(b) assess gaps in services, access to care, and institutional practices;
(c) develop evidence-based recommendations for prevention and policy improvement;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14433-05-6
(d) promote collaboration among relevant state, local, and federal agencies; and
(e) identify initiatives or make recommendations that would enhance or build upon New York state's participation in federal veteran suicide programs, including the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/VA Suicide Mortality review framework and the Governor's Challenge to Prevent Veteran Suicide.
3. As used in this article the term "veteran" shall have the same meaning as defined in subdivision ten of section six hundred seventyseven of the county law. § 79.53 Membership.
1. The board shall be composed of at least thirteen members appointed by the governor including the following:
(a) the commissioner of health, or their designee;
(b) the commissioner of mental health, or their designee who shall be the chair of the board;
(c) the state commissioner of veterans' services, or their designee;
(d) two representatives of county medical examiners or coroners;
(e) one representative from the state conference of local mental hygiene directors established under article forty-one of this chapter;
(f) two licensed clinicians experienced in mental health and suicide prevention;
(g) two public health experts with experience in mortality review or epidemiology; and
(h) up to three additional members with expertise in veterans' issues, community mental health, or suicide prevention.
2. Members shall serve for three year terms, and may serve until a successor is appointed.
3. A majority of the membership of the board shall constitute a quorum.
4. When any member of the board fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings, unless such absence is for good cause, that membership may be deemed vacant for purposes of the appointment of a successor.
5. Meetings of the board shall be held at least twice a year but may be held more frequently as deemed necessary, subject to request of the office.
6. Members of the board shall be indemnified under section seventeen of the public officers law.
7. Members of the board shall not be compensated for their participation on the board but shall receive reimbursement for their ordinary and necessary expenses of participation.
8. Membership on the board shall not disqualify any person from holding any public office or employment. § 79.55 Powers and duties.
1. The board shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) Case review of deaths by suicide of individuals identified as veterans, including those recently separated from military service. In addition to any other information collected pursuant to this article, the board shall review completed forms received from the department of veterans' services pursuant to subdivision thirty-five of section four of the veterans' services law. The board shall assess the cause of suicide, factors leading to suicide, and the preventability for each suicide death reviewed.
(b) Coordination with federal and state partners, including U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and other agencies involved in veteran suicide prevention. The commissioner is authorized to enter into memoranda of understanding with the federal government to facilitate such cooperation including data sharing and access to relevant records, including but not limited to VA records, provided that the commissioner shall ensure that such agreements adequately protect the confidentiality of veteran information consistent with state law.
(c) Issue evidence-based recommendations for system improvements, policy, and preventive interventions.
2. The commissioner may request and shall receive upon request from any department, division, board, bureau, commission, local health departments or other agency of the state or political subdivision thereof or any public authority, such information, including but not limited to death records, medical records, autopsy reports, toxicology reports, hospital discharge records, and any other information that will help the board under this section to properly carry out its functions, powers and duties.
3. The commissioner shall receive and may solicit voluntary information, including oral or written statements, relating to any veteran suicide death or suicide attempt from any family member or other interested party, including the veteran in a case of suicide attempt, relating to any case that may come before the board. Oral statements received under this paragraph shall be transcribed or summarized in writing. The commissioner shall transmit such information to the board.
4. Before transmitting any information to the board, the commissioner shall remove all personally identifying information of the veteran, health care practitioner or practitioners, or anyone else individually named in such information, as well as the hospital or facility that treated the veteran, if applicable, and any other information, such as geographic location, that may inadvertently identify the veteran, practitioner or facility. This subdivision shall not preclude the transmitting of information to the board that is reasonably necessary to enable the board to perform an appropriate review under this section.
5. The commissioner and the board shall each keep confidential any information collected or received under this article that includes personally identifying information of the veteran, health care practitioner or practitioners or anyone else individually named in such information, as well as the hospital or facility that treated the veteran, if applicable, and any other information such as geographic location that may inadvertently identify the veteran, practitioner or facility, and shall use the information provided or received under this section solely for the purposes of improvement of the quality of health care of veterans and to prevent veteran suicide. This subdivision shall not preclude the transmitting of information to the board that is reasonably necessary to enable the board to perform an appropriate review under this section.
6. All records received, meetings conducted, reports, except those reports required to be issued by the board pursuant to this article, and records made and maintained by the board, and all books and papers obtained by the board shall be confidential and shall not be made open or available, including under article six of the public officers law, with access limited only to board members and those authorized in writing by the commissioner. Such information shall not be discoverable or admissible as evidence in any action in any court or before any other tribunal, board, agency or person. § 79.57 Reporting.
1. No later than one year after its first meeting and each year thereafter, the board shall submit an annual report to the governor, the legislature, the commissioner, the commissioner of veterans' services and the commissioner of health summarizing:
(a) the board's activities including the number of veteran suicide cases reviewed;
(b) the number of apparent veteran suicide deaths reported by coroners, coroner's physicians or medical examiners pursuant to subdivision ten of section six hundred seventy-seven of the county law;
(c) trends in veteran suicides statewide, including at a minimum the most common methods of suicide;
(d) systemic gaps or failures contributing to veteran suicide deaths; and
(e) demographic information about veterans who die by suicide, including age, sex, race or ethnicity, county of residence and to the extent relevant and practicable, information about military service and medical history, including military discharge status, time elapsed since date of discharge or release from military service and date of death, service on federal or state active duty including the time and place of such service, eligibility for and/or use of VA health care services, and physical or mental health conditions including service-connected disabilities; and
(f) any other findings deemed relevant by the board, as well as the board's recommendations for policy, practice, and program improvements or best practices to contribute to the prevention of veteran suicide.
2. The report shall protect individual privacy, presenting only de-identified or aggregated data.
3. The report shall also be made publicly available on the websites of the office, the department of health and the department of veterans' services. § 79.59 Staffing and resources.
The office shall provide administrative support, staffing, and analytical capacity necessary for the board to fulfill its duties. The board may also utilize existing federal or state funding, technical assistance, and data systems, including those provided by U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs programs.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law. The veteran suicide mortality review board established by section one of this act shall convene its first meeting within ninety days of such effective date.
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, in relation to establishing a veteran suicide mortality review board
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::
The purpose of this bill is to codify and operationalize a statewide Veteran Suicide Mortality Review Board (VSMRB) that systematically reviews veteran suicide deaths, identifies trends and systemic gaps and issues actionable recommendations to prevent future deaths.
Read the full memo (789 words)
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section one of the bill would establish, in consultation with the Department of Health and the Department of Veterans' Services, the veteran suicide mortality board and require the board to:
- conduct a multidisciplinary review of suicide deaths among veterans. - identify trends and systemic factors contributing to veteran suicide. - develop evidence-based recommendations for prevention and policy improvement. - promote collaboration among relevant state, local, and federal agen- cies - identify initiatives or make recommendations that would build upon NYS participation in federal veteran suicide programs, including the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/VA Suicide Mortality Review framework and the Governor's Challenge to Prevent Veteran Suicide. - require the board to be composed of 13 members appointed by the Gover- nor and require such members to serve three-year terms. - hold meetings at least twice a year; and - no later than one year after the first meeting and each year thereaft- er, require the board to submit an annual report to the Governor, the Legislature, the Commissioner of OMH, the Commissioner of DVS, and the Commissioner of DOH.
JUSTIFICATION::
Veterans in New York die by suicide at nearly twice the rate of civil- ians and younger veterans are particularly at risk; Veteran suicide is a significant public health crisis in New York. Nationally, more than 6,400 veterans died by suicide in 2022, underscoring the urgency of targeted and sustained prevention efforts. New York State has already committed, as a matter of policy, to addressing it through participation in federal veteran suicide prevention and mortality review initiatives led by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. New York has formally joined the Governor's Challenge to Prevent Veteran Suicide and has convened stakeholder meetings and implementation discussions, to develop a Veteran Suicide Mortality. Review process. However, despite these commitments, the review board has not been fully implemented or operationalized because it lacks a clear statutory framework requiring interagency cooperation, data sharing and coordinated review. As is the case with other mortality review efforts, the absence of statutory authority has resulted in fragmented and incomplete implementation. Under current law, state agencies are not mandated to share information, participate in reviews, or align their efforts in a unified manner.
As a result, data remains fragmented across the Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, the Division of Veterans' Services, medical examiners, and federal partners, undermining the State's ability to conduct comprehensive reviews, identify systemic failures, and make effective policy recommendations. Without clear statutory direction, participation remains discretionary, reviews are inconsistent, and the State is unable to fully analyze the circumstances surrounding veteran suicide deaths or identify systemic gaps in care, services, and transi- tions.
This tack of coordination significantly limits the State's ability to develop evidence-based recommendations to prevent future deaths. This bill establishes the statutory structure necessary to implement existing State policy as intended. It does not create a new program or duplicate existing efforts. Rather, it codifies and formalizes the Veteran Suicide Mortality Review Board within the. Department of Health, ensuring that the work already underway is conducted in a coordinated, multidiscipli- nary, and non-fragmented manner. The board already has identified fund- ing streams and is intended to operate within existing Department of Health infrastructure.
This legislation simply provides the legal authority required to mandate interagency participation, protect confidentiality, and ensure consist- ent review and reporting. By placing the Veteran Suicide Mortality Review Board in statute, this bill ensures accountability, durability, and effectiveness. A statutory mandate is the only mechanism that will allow New York State to fully implement its existing commitments, elimi- nate silos between agencies, and conduct meaningful, data-driven suicide prevention work for veterans across the State.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::
Minimal. The board will build upon current funding streams, including federal technical assistance and grant-supported activities associated with the Governor's Challenge to Prevent Veterans Suicide and related United States Department of Veterans Affairs and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration programs.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law. The veteran suicide mortality board established by section one of this act shall convene its first meeting within ninety days of such effective date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.