NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9056
SPONSOR: Gonzalez-Rojas TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law and the administrative code of the
city of New York, in relation to requiring emergency alerts to be issued
in the ten most commonly spoken languages in the area covered by such
emergency alert
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this legislation is to require that all disaster notifi-
cations sent via phone, text, email, social media, and internet are
communicated in the ten most commonly spoken languages in the state.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:.
Section 1 amends Section 22 of the Executive Law to require that all
emergency notifications communicated via email, text, phone, social
media or internet-based feed shall be sent in the ten most spoken
languages of the area that is affected.
Section 2 amends Section 30-115 of the administrative code of the City
of New York to require that emergency notifications issued by a city
office or agency be done in at least ten of the most commonly spoken
languages of the area that is affected.
Section 3 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2021, New York State was heavily impacted by the remnants of Tropical
Storm Ida. The damage was felt in various areas of the state, including
the counties of The Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens,
Richmond, and Suffolk. Emergency notifications were issued but they were
not issued in several languages, placing immigrant communities and New
Yorkers for whom English is not their first language at a disadvantage.
It is estimated that eight hundred languages are spoken in New York
State, so language access is an integral component of effective disaster
preparedness and response.
This legislation will ensure that emergency notifications issued by city
agencies and offices related to an emergency are sent in the top ten
most spoken languages in the affected area. Emergency notifications will
be issued via email, text, phone, social media platforth, or internet-
based feed. Expanding the languages that emergency alerts are issued in
will better allow all New Yorkers to respond to emergencies, therefore
minimizing potential loss of life and damage.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: A8322 - Reported to Governmental Operations committee
2021: A8322 - Reported to Governmental Operations committee
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined,
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9056
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
September 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law and the administrative code of the
city of New York, in relation to requiring emergency alerts to be
issued in the ten most commonly spoken languages in the area covered
by such emergency alert
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph 3 of paragraph b of subdivision 3 of section
2 22 of the executive law, as amended by section 3 of part B of chapter 56
3 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
4 (3) a system for warning populations who are or may be endangered. Any
5 emergency alert issued through e-mail, text, phone, social media plat-
6 form, or internet-based feed shall be issued in no fewer than the ten
7 most commonly spoken languages within the area covered by such emergency
8 alert. Such notifications shall be separated into distinct messages in
9 separate feeds for each language. A general version of each notification
10 may be used when a real-time translation is unavailable, provided that
11 priority shall be placed upon making notifications available with the
12 greatest specificity possible;
13 § 2. Section 30-115 of the administrative code of the city of New
14 York, as added by local law number 31 of the city of New York for the
15 year 2017, is amended to read as follows:
16 § 30-115 Emergency notifications. a. Any emergency alert originated by
17 a city office or city agency that is issued through a commercial mobile
18 service alert system established pursuant to section 1201 of title 47 of
19 the United States code shall, to the extent practicable and to the
20 extent permissible under regulations enacted pursuant to such section,
21 be issued in no fewer than the [two] ten most commonly spoken languages
22 within the area covered by the emergency alert as determined by the
23 commissioner in consultation with the department of city planning,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13630-01-5
A. 9056 2
1 provided that this subdivision does not require the issuance of an emer-
2 gency alert in a language if exigent circumstances prohibit the issuance
3 of an alert in such language.
4 b. Any emergency notification system operated and controlled by the
5 office of emergency management for the purposes of aggregating informa-
6 tion obtained from other offices or agencies to inform the public about
7 emergencies or disruptive events through e-mail, text, phone, social
8 media platform, or internet-based feed shall offer each notification in
9 no fewer than the [seven] ten most commonly spoken languages within the
10 city as determined by the commissioner in consultation with the depart-
11 ment of city planning, provided that this requirement shall not delay or
12 prohibit the immediate issuance of notifications in any individual
13 language. Notifications shall be separated into distinct messages in
14 separate feeds for each language. A general version of each notification
15 may be used when a real-time translation is unavailable, provided that
16 priority shall be placed upon making notifications available with the
17 greatest specificity possible. Any dissemination limitation applicable
18 to an English language notification may be applied to its equivalent
19 notification in another language. If no potential recipient is regis-
20 tered for a specific language, then a notification need not be dissem-
21 inated in that language.
22 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
23 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment
24 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
25 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
26 completed on or before such effective date.
