STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9536
IN ASSEMBLY
January 24, 2020
___________
Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring certi-
fied treatment programs to notify patients of their right to name an
emergency contact
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Stephen's
2 law".
3 § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 32.17-a
4 to read as follows:
5 § 32.17-a Notification of emergency contact.
6 Every certified treatment program shall notify every patient of their
7 right to identify individuals who should be contacted in case of emer-
8 gency, as such term is defined by the commissioner.
9 § 3. The office of addiction services and supports shall develop
10 guidelines to encourage certified treatment programs to work with
11 patients to identify individuals who can assist in their treatment and
12 recovery, and to identify those individuals who can serve as an emergen-
13 cy contact person for such patient. Such guidelines shall provide
14 instruction to certified treatment programs regarding recommended proto-
15 cols for communicating with emergency contacts.
16 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
17 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the development of
18 guidelines necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective
19 date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05434-10-0
