A04945 Summary:

BILL NOA04945
 
SAME ASSAME AS S00877
 
SPONSORWalter
 
COSPNSRFinch, Raia, Montesano, Tenney, Hawley, Graf, Crouch, Lawrence
 
MLTSPNSRBarclay, Kearns, McDonough
 
Add S224, Eld L
 
Establishes a veterans' gerontological advisory committee.
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A04945 Actions:

BILL NOA04945
 
02/09/2015referred to aging
01/06/2016referred to aging
05/24/2016held for consideration in aging
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A04945 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A4945
 
SPONSOR: Walter
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the elder law, in relation to estab- lishing a veterans' gerontological advisory committee   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: Establishes a veterans gerontological advisory committee   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1: The elder law is amended by adding a new section 224 which states that a veterans gerontological advisory committee is established in the office of the aging, consisting of no more than nineteen members, who shall serve six-year terms without remuneration. At least sixty-percent of the members of the committee shall be age sixty or older. At least ten of the members shall be veterans, two of whom shall be appointed by the governor, three of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly, three of whom shall be appointed by the tempo- rary president of the senate, one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the assembly, and one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the senate. Nine of the members shall be appointed by the director of the office of the aging, at least one of whom shall be a physician in the field of primary care geriatric medicine, at least one of whom shall be a researcher in the field of social gerontology, at least one of whom shall be certified as a geriatric nurse practitioner, at least one of whom shall be a clinical practitioner of geriatric psychiatry, at least one of whom shall be a facility or health care system veterans home- based primary care program director, at least one of whom shall be a caregiver in the field of veterans respite care, at least one of whom shall be an expert in the field of eldercare planning and management from the New York State Veterans' home, at least one of whom shall be an expert in the field of gerontological social work who specializes in services for aging veterans, and at least one of whom shall be an econo- mist with a focus in the fields of aging, household saving, pensions, social security, taxation, and housing markets. The committee shall meet at least once annually at times and places set by the commissioner and provide advice, comments and recommendations to advise the director on policies, programs, services and trends impacting the state's aging veteran population and the larger context of veterans healthcare systems, and such other matters as the director may request. The director may ask other individuals to attend the committee's meet- ings or work with it on an occasional or regular basis. Membership on the committee shall not constitute the holding of an office, and the committee shall not have the right to exercise any portion of the sover- eign powers of the state. No member of the committee shall be disquali- fied from holding any public office or employment, nor shall he or she forfeit any such office or employment, by reason of his or her appoint- ment. Section 2: States the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: New York has the second highest Veteran population in the United States, and older Veterans represent a population whose needs and problems pervade multiple geriatrics and gerontology disciplines. This legislation establishes a Veterans Gerontological Advisory Commit- tee, which will advise the Director of the Office of the Aging on poli- cies, programs, services and trends affecting New York's aging Veteran population. At no cost to the taxpayers, the advisory committee will be able to provide crucial recommendations aimed at improving the care and support available to aging Veterans. The membership will be drawn from the ranks of New York's finest experts on aging, seniors' and Veterans' issues, representing medical researchers, practitioners, academia, and Veterans' organizations. Their mission will be to share information and challenges associated with caring for aging veterans, and their families, providing the Office of the Aging with guidance on pressing concerns including caregiver Initiatives, alternative housing trends for Veterans, longterm and continuing care, health promotion and rehabilitation, departmental research and dementia research. The committee can also play a role in educating staff and the public on a wide range of issues affecting veterans and seniors.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: A6966 2013-2014 A1128 of 2011-2012: referred to Rules A11306 of 2010: referred to Rules   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A04945 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4945
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 9, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. WALTER -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Aging
 
        AN  ACT  to amend the elder law, in relation to establishing a veterans'
          gerontological advisory committee
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  The  elder  law is amended by adding a new section 224 to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 224. Veterans' gerontological advisory committee. 1. There is hereby
     4  established  within  the  office  a  veterans'  gerontological  advisory
     5  committee  which  shall  consist  of no more than nineteen members to be
     6  appointed pursuant to this subdivision. Members shall be appointed for a
     7  term of six years and may  serve  until  their  successors  are  chosen.
     8  Members  shall serve without salary. Any member chosen to fill a vacancy
     9  created otherwise than by expiration of term shall be appointed for  the
    10  unexpired  term of the member he or she is to succeed. A chairperson and
    11  vice-chairperson shall be appointed by the director, and  the  committee
    12  shall be comprised of:
    13    (a)  Two  members  appointed  by  the  governor, both of whom shall be
    14  veterans;
    15    (b) Nine members appointed by the director, including:
    16    (1) at least one of whom shall be a physician in the field of  primary
    17  care geriatric medicine;
    18    (2)  at least one of whom shall be a researcher in the field of social
    19  gerontology;
    20    (3) at least one of whom shall be certified as a geriatric nurse prac-
    21  titioner;
    22    (4) at least one of whom shall be a clinical practitioner of geriatric
    23  psychiatry;
    24    (5) at least one of whom shall be a facility  or  health  care  system
    25  veterans'  home-based  primary  care  program director as defined by the
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02136-01-5

        A. 4945                             2
 
     1  United States department of veterans' affairs veterans' health  adminis-
     2  tration directive eleven hundred forty-one;
     3    (6)  at  least one of whom shall be a caregiver in the field of veter-
     4  ans' respite care;
     5    (7) at least one of whom shall be an expert in the field of  eldercare
     6  planning  and  management  from the New York state veterans' home estab-
     7  lished pursuant to article twenty-six-A of the public health law;
     8    (8) at least one of whom shall be an expert in the field  of  geronto-
     9  logical social work who specializes in services for aging veterans; and
    10    (9)  at  least  one  of whom shall be an economist with a focus in the
    11  fields of aging, household saving, pensions, social security,  taxation,
    12  and housing markets;
    13    (c) Three members appointed by the governor upon the nomination of the
    14  temporary president of the senate, each of whom shall be veterans;
    15    (d) Three members appointed by the governor upon the nomination of the
    16  speaker of the assembly, each of whom shall be veterans;
    17    (e)  One  member  appointed by the governor upon the nomination of the
    18  minority leader of the senate who shall be a veteran; and
    19    (f) One member appointed by the governor upon the  nomination  of  the
    20  minority leader of the assembly who shall be a veteran.
    21    2. Sixty percent of the members of the advisory committee appointed on
    22  and after the effective date of this subdivision shall be sixty years of
    23  age or over.
    24    3. The committee shall provide advice, comments and recommendations to
    25  advise the director on policies, programs, services and trends impacting
    26  the state's aging veteran population and the larger context of veterans'
    27  healthcare  systems,  and such other matters as the director may request
    28  in relation to this article.
    29    4. The advisory committee shall meet at least once annually  at  times
    30  and places set by the chairperson.
    31    5.  The  director  may ask other individuals to attend the committee's
    32  meetings or work with it on an occasional or regular basis.
    33    6. Membership on the committee shall not constitute the holding of  an
    34  office,  and  members of the committee shall not be required to take and
    35  file oaths of office before serving  on  the  committee.  The  committee
    36  shall not have the right to exercise any portion of the sovereign powers
    37  of the state.
    38    7.  No  member of the committee shall be disqualified from holding any
    39  public office or employment, nor shall he or she forfeit any such office
    40  or employment, by reason of his or her appointment  hereunder,  notwith-
    41  standing  the provisions of any general, special or local law, ordinance
    42  or city charter.
    43    8. For the purposes of  this  section,  the  term  "veteran"  means  a
    44  person,  male  or  female, resident of this state, who has served in the
    45  active military or naval service of the United States during  a  war  in
    46  which  the  United  States  engaged  and who has been released from such
    47  service by any means other than by dishonorable discharge,  or  who  has
    48  been furloughed to the reserve.
    49    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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