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S08119 Summary:

S08119 Actions:

S08119 Committee Votes:

S08119 Floor Votes:

S08119 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         8119--C
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     March 23, 2020
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens. COMRIE, HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted  to  said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and  recommitted  to  said  committee  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the  transportation  law,  in  relation  to  paratransit
          services  within the state and city of New York during the coronavirus
          (COVID-19) pandemic
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Subdivision 5 of section 15-b of the transportation law is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph c to read as follows:
     3    c. (1) (a) The period of validity of the paratransit certification  of
     4  all  Americans  with  Disabilities Act paratransit eligible individuals,
     5  whose certification would otherwise  expire  between  March  first,  two
     6  thousand  twenty  and  July  thirty-first, two thousand twenty, shall be
     7  extended through August thirty-first, two thousand twenty.
     8    (b) Each contractor providing paratransit services shall render eligi-
     9  bility determinations for any application for Americans  with  Disabili-
    10  ties  Act paratransit based solely on information contained in the writ-
    11  ten application and in submitted  medical  documentation,  until  August
    12  thirty-first, two thousand twenty.
    13    (c)  All  contractors providing paratransit services shall, until July
    14  thirty-first, two thousand twenty, dispatch and route individual  rather
    15  than shared paratransit rides, to the maximum extent possible, and shall
    16  notify  customers  as  soon  as practicable in advance in the event that
    17  their ride will be shared with another customer.  Such  customers  shall
    18  have  the  right  to  refuse  or  reschedule  rides that would have been
    19  shared, and any such refusal or rescheduling shall  be  without  penalty
    20  provided they respond within a reasonable amount of time.
    21    (d)  All contractors providing paratransit services in the city of New
    22  York shall ensure that all paratransit drivers and  personnel  providing
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16013-17-0
        S. 8119--C                          2
 
     1  paratransit  services are provided with hand sanitizer, disposable ster-
     2  ile gloves, face masks and training on preventive  measures  to  protect
     3  customers,  paratransit  drivers  and  personnel  providing  paratransit
     4  services  from  COVID-19  and other infectious diseases, consistent with
     5  current guidelines from the federal  centers  for  disease  control  and
     6  prevention,  the  federal occupational safety and health administration,
     7  and the New York state department of health.
     8    (2) Any contractor providing paratransit  services  is  authorized  to
     9  extend  any date set forth in clause (a), (b) or (c) of subparagraph one
    10  of this paragraph, if, in the interest of the health and safety  of  the
    11  public due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, such contractor deems
    12  such extension to be necessary.
    13    §  2.  Subdivision  5  of  section  15-c  of the transportation law is
    14  amended by adding a new paragraph e to read as follows:
    15    e. (1) (a) The period of validity of the paratransit certification  of
    16  all  Americans  with  Disabilities Act paratransit eligible individuals,
    17  whose certification would otherwise  expire  between  March  first,  two
    18  thousand  twenty  and  July  thirty-first, two thousand twenty, shall be
    19  extended through August thirty-first, two thousand twenty.
    20    (b) Each transportation provider providing paratransit services  shall
    21  render eligibility determinations for any application for Americans with
    22  Disabilities  Act  paratransit  based solely on information contained in
    23  the written application and in submitted  medical  documentation,  until
    24  August thirty-first, two thousand twenty.
    25    (c) All transportation providers providing paratransit services shall,
    26  until  July  thirty-first, two thousand twenty, dispatch and route indi-
    27  vidual rather than shared  paratransit  rides,  to  the  maximum  extent
    28  possible,  and  shall notify customers as soon as practicable in advance
    29  in the event that their ride will be shared with another customer.  Such
    30  customers  shall have the right to refuse or reschedule rides that would
    31  have been shared, and any such refusal or rescheduling shall be  without
    32  penalty provided they respond within a reasonable amount of time.
    33    (d)  All  transportation  providers  providing paratransit services in
    34  this state shall ensure  that  all  paratransit  drivers  and  personnel
    35  providing paratransit services are provided with hand sanitizer, dispos-
    36  able  sterile  gloves, face masks and training on preventive measures to
    37  protect customers, paratransit drivers and personnel providing paratran-
    38  sit services from COVID-19 and  other  infectious  diseases,  consistent
    39  with current guidelines from the federal centers for disease control and
    40  prevention,  the  federal occupational safety and health administration,
    41  and the New York state department of health.
    42    (2) Any transportation  provider  providing  paratransit  services  is
    43  authorized  to  extend  any  date set forth in clause (a), (b) or (c) of
    44  subparagraph one of this paragraph, if, in the interest  of  the  health
    45  and  safety  of  the  public due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,
    46  such transportation provider deems such extension to be necessary.
    47    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.