Directs the commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency services to conduct an after-action review study on the state's COVID-19 pandemic response; directs the commissioner to submit a report on such study after 1 year and make such report publicly available on its website, and share such report with the CDC.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6174
SPONSOR: Lemondes TITLE OF BILL:
An act directing the commissioner of the division of homeland security
and emergency services to conduct a study on the state's COVID-19
pandemic response
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Directing the commissioner of the division of homeland security and
emergency services to conduct a study on the state's COVID-19 pandemic
response.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Directs the commissioner of the division of homeland security
and emergency services to conduct a study on the state's COVID-19
pandemic response. Includes criteria that said after action.review must
include.
Section 2: Provides for the distribution of said report to both govern-
ment officials and the public at large.
Section 3: Sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The New York State government made many errors in its handling of the
COVID-19 pandemic. For example, many senior citizens died in.nursing
homes as a result of the state's missteps. Because of uncertainties,
students also lost valuable time in the classroom with their peers and
teachers. These are just two issues out of several that state leaders
have not addressed in the aftermath of the pandemic. This bill would
create an after action review (AAR) of the state's COVID-19 performance.
Numerous criterion would be used to gauge where New York fell short, and
where it could do better. It is a certainty that another pandemic will
happen. While one cannot say when it will happen, it is imperative that
New York State be prepared for it. Therefore, performing an AAR for the
state's COVID-19 response is critical to make sure mistakes of the past
are not repeated.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Minimal cost to pay for the study
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6174
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 26, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LEMONDES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT directing the commissioner of the division of homeland security
and emergency services to conduct a study on the state's COVID-19
pandemic response
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The commissioner of the division of homeland security and
2 emergency services shall conduct an after-action review study of New
3 York state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such study shall explore
4 every facet of New York state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
5 including, but not limited to, the level of success or failure of each
6 approach taken by all state and local governmental entities that took
7 specific action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including but not
8 limited to, actions of authorities and implementation of operations,
9 logistics, resource management, communications, policies, and such state
10 and local governmental entities' relationships with the centers for
11 disease control and prevention.
12 § 2. No later than one year after the effective date of this act, the
13 commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency services
14 shall submit a report on the findings of the study under section one of
15 this act to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the
16 speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate, and the
17 minority leader of the assembly. Such report shall be divided into the
18 following three sections: (i) an identification of the issue or issues;
19 (ii) a discussion of such issue or issues; and (iii) recommendations to
20 mitigate the effects of any potential future pandemics. Such report
21 shall also be made public on the division of homeland security and emer-
22 gency services' website and shared with the federal centers for disease
23 control and prevention.
24 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
25 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05490-01-5
