STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
915
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
ty and Military Affairs
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring sign
language interpreters during live broadcast press conferences during a
declared state of emergency
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 29-l
2 to read as follows:
3 § 29-l. Declaration of emergency, broadcast requirements. Whenever the
4 governor has declared a disaster emergency pursuant to section twenty-
5 eight of this article, or the chief executive of the county, or where a
6 county is wholly contained within a city, the chief executive of the
7 city, has proclaimed a local state of emergency pursuant to section
8 twenty-four of this article, the chief executive must provide an Ameri-
9 can Sign Language qualified interpreter who is certified by a recognized
10 national or New York state credentialing authority at every live broad-
11 cast press conference during the declared state of emergency or local
12 state of emergency. To the greatest extent possible, the chief executive
13 shall ensure that the sign language interpreter shall be physically
14 positioned in a manner that his or her face, body, arms and hands are
15 visible in the video transmission of the press conference at all times.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01455-01-3
