Provides that the coroner, coroner's physician or medical examiner shall promptly report to the division of veterans' services, in a form developed and provided by such division, any death which appears to be a suicide by a person who, to the knowledge of the coroner, coroner's physician or medical examiner, is a veteran; a report shall be provided to the governor and legislature on certain suicide statistics no later than June 13, 2024.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3237--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 22, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the county law and the executive law, in relation to the
reporting of a veteran's suicide
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 677 of the county law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 10 to read as follows:
3 10. The coroner, coroner's physician or medical examiner shall report
4 to the division of veterans' services, in a form, and time frame devel-
5 oped by such division in a manner that is protective of privacy and
6 contains aggregate, rather than individual data to the extent practica-
7 ble, any death which appears to be a suicide by a person who, to the
8 knowledge of the coroner, coroner's physician or medical examiner, is a
9 veteran.
10 § 2. Section 353 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
11 subdivision 26 to read as follows:
12 26. (a) To develop a form by which a coroner, coroner's physician or
13 medical examiner, pursuant to section six hundred seventy-seven of the
14 county law, shall report to the division any death which appears to be a
15 suicide by a person who, to the knowledge of the coroner, coroner's
16 physician or medical examiner, is a veteran. This form shall at a mini-
17 mum: (i) ensure compliance with the strictest privacy protections and
18 encourage data aggregation to the extent feasible; (ii) provide the
19 address to which the form is to be mailed or submitted electronically;
20 and (iii) include the county of residence and the branch of service of
21 deceased veterans during the reporting period.
22 (b) The division shall: (i) forward completed forms to the office of
23 mental hygiene pursuant to subdivision (g) of section 7.07 of the mental
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03672-03-1
A. 3237--A 2
1 hygiene law in a timely manner; and (ii) compile such information for
2 inclusion in the annual report pursuant to this section.
3 § 3. Section 353 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
4 subdivision 6-b to read as follows:
5 6-b. To prepare and submit a report in consultation with the depart-
6 ment of health and the department of mental hygiene including the
7 following information to the extent it is reasonably accessible: (a) the
8 number of veterans who died by suicide; (b) trends of veterans suicide
9 rates over the last five years, including details by period of military
10 service; and (c) a comparison of veterans suicide rates by county,
11 statewide and nationwide. Such report shall be delivered to the governor
12 and legislature no later than June thirteenth, two thousand twenty-four
13 and every three years thereafter. Such report shall also be made avail-
14 able on the division's website.
15 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
16 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
17 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
18 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
19 completed on or before such effective date.
