Requires public officers and public bodies to make proactive efforts to provide qualified interpreters at no charge for the hearing impaired at public meetings and hearings upon written request to the public officer responsible for the siting of such hearing; requires installation and use of assistive listening devices.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3430--B
Cal. No. 395
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 29, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. COMRIE, GIANARIS -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Ethics and Inter-
nal Governance -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to
first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and
ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
-- again amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the
order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to the accessibil-
ity of public hearings and meetings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 74-a of the public officers law, as added by chap-
2 ter 368 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 74-a. Duty of public officers regarding [the physically handicapped]
4 accessibility. 1. It shall be the duty of each public officer responsi-
5 ble for the scheduling or siting of any public hearing to make [reason-
6 able] proactive efforts to ensure (a) that such hearings are held in
7 facilities that permit barrier-free physical access to the physically
8 handicapped, as defined in subdivision five of section fifty of the
9 public buildings law; and (b) that services of a qualified interpreter
10 are provided at such public hearings at no charge to persons who are
11 deaf or hard of hearing upon written request to the public officer
12 responsible for the scheduling or siting of the public hearing within a
13 reasonable time prior to such hearing. If interpreter services are
14 requested, the public officer responsible for the scheduling or siting
15 of the public hearing shall engage the services of a qualified inter-
16 preter, to interpret the proceeding to, and the testimony of such
17 persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
18 2. (a) Such public officers shall have the power and it shall be their
19 individual duty to equip any rooms used for public hearings which accom-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03709-05-1
S. 3430--B 2
1 modate more than one hundred persons with an assistive listening system
2 for use by the deaf or hard of hearing;
3 (b) For purposes of this subdivision, the term "assistive listening
4 system" shall mean situational-personal acoustic communication equipment
5 designed to improve the transmission and auditory reception of sound.
6 Such system shall include but not be limited to the use of standard
7 amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), audio induction
8 loop, infrared light sound, hard wire systems including those that
9 provide closed captions, open captions known as CART, American sign
10 language, Black American sign language, deafblind interpretation includ-
11 ing but not limited to using protactile as well as braille and large
12 print services.
13 § 2. Subdivision (d) of section 103 of the public officers law, as
14 added by chapter 40 of the laws of 2010, is relettered subdivision (g)
15 and two new subdivisions (h) and (i) are added to read as follows:
16 (h) Public bodies shall make or cause to be made all proactive efforts
17 to ensure that services of a qualified interpreter are provided at meet-
18 ings at no charge to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing upon writ-
19 ten request to the public body within a reasonable time prior to such
20 meeting. If interpreter services are requested, the public body shall
21 engage the services of a qualified interpreter to interpret the
22 proceedings of the meeting;
23 (i) (1) Public bodies shall have the power and it shall be their
24 collective duty to equip meeting rooms which accommodate more than one
25 hundred persons with an assistive listening system for use by the deaf
26 or hard of hearing;
27 (2) For purposes of this section, the term "assistive listening
28 system" shall mean situational-personal acoustic communication equipment
29 designed to improve the transmission and auditory reception of sound.
30 Such system shall include but not be limited to the use of standard
31 amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), audio induction
32 loop, infrared light sound hard wire systems including those that
33 provide closed captions, open captions known as CART, American sign
34 language, Black American sign language, deafblind interpretation includ-
35 ing but not limited to using protactile as well as braille and large
36 print services.
37 § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023.
