STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1467

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 12, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. BRESLIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

        AN ACT to establish a task force to assess the public health  impact  of
          firearm  violence  and  injury  and  providing  for the repeal of such
          provisions upon expiration thereof

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds and
     2  declares  that  firearm  injuries  and  deaths  have  reached   epidemic
     3  proportions,  with  firearm  injuries ranked among the top ten causes of
     4  death among all Americans, and as the leading cause of death among young
     5  African-American males. The legislature further finds and declares  that
     6  this   epidemic  necessitates  public  policies  which  address  firearm
     7  violence and injury as a public  health  issue  and  that  one  critical
     8  component  of such policies is an integrated and comprehensive statewide
     9  effort to accurately document  the  origins,  incidence  and  nature  of
    10  firearm violence and injury in New York state.
    11    The  legislature  also finds that dispersed and widely varied data and
    12  information related to  incidents  of  firearm  violence  are  presently
    13  collected by state and local law enforcement agencies; and that informa-
    14  tion  and  data  related  to  the nature, severity and causes of firearm
    15  injuries are also regularly compiled by health care providers engaged in
    16  the treatment of such injuries. The legislature finds and declares  that
    17  a  coordinated and fully integrated statewide network of data and infor-
    18  mation is required to fully assess the public health impact  of  firearm
    19  violence  and  injury  in  New  York  state and to formulate policies to
    20  combat such violence and injury in the protection of public health.
    21    The legislature hereby establishes a task force to devise a  statewide
    22  network  of  data  and information related to firearm violence and inju-
    23  ries. The task force will coordinate the integration of data compiled by
    24  law enforcement agencies and health care providers, related  to  firearm

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03946-01-1

        S. 1467                             2

     1  violence  and  injury.  This task force will be comprised of appropriate
     2  state agency personnel, law enforcement authorities, health care provid-
     3  ers, and experts in the fields of epidemiology and ballistics. The  task
     4  force  will  assess the nature and current methods by which data related
     5  to firearm violence and injury are compiled and reported by law enforce-
     6  ment agencies and health care providers. The task force shall  recommend
     7  any  changes  in the nature or manner in which such data is compiled and
     8  reported, to facilitate an on-going, statewide assessment of the  public
     9  health impact of firearm violence and injury in New York state.
    10    §  2.  An  eight  member  task  force  is hereby established to assess
    11  current data and information compiled by law enforcement  personnel  and
    12  health  providers  related  to incidents of firearm violence and injury,
    13  and to recommend mechanisms  by  which  an  integrated,  statewide  data
    14  collection  and  tracking system may be established to assess the public
    15  health impact of such violence and injury.
    16    § 3. The task force shall be comprised of  the  commissioners  of  the
    17  department  of health and the division of criminal justice services, who
    18  may designate representatives to act on their behalf.
    19    The commissioner of the department of health or the designee  thereof,
    20  shall  chair  the  task force. The governor shall appoint two members to
    21  the task force: one member shall be an epidemiologist experienced in the
    22  study of firearm injuries and one member shall be an expert  in  firearm
    23  ballistics. The temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the
    24  assembly  shall each appoint one member to the task force who shall be a
    25  member of a state or local law enforcement agency. The minority  leaders
    26  of  the  senate  and  assembly shall each appoint one member to the task
    27  force, who shall be a health care  provider  regularly  engaged  in  the
    28  treatment  of  firearm injuries. Administrative duties of the task force
    29  shall be the responsibility of the department of health.
    30    § 4. The task force shall provide a report to  the  governor  and  the
    31  legislature on or before January 15, 2023. Such report shall include:
    32    (a)  an  identification of the data and informational needs associated
    33  with an assessment of firearm violence and injury as an issue of  public
    34  health in New York state;
    35    (b)  an  identification  of  any differences among state and local law
    36  enforcement agencies in the collection and reporting of information  and
    37  data  related  to  firearm  violence  and injury, the basis for any such
    38  differences, and how such differences may be addressed;
    39    (c) an identification of any differences among health  care  providers
    40  and  in particular, emergency medical services providers, with regard to
    41  the collection and reporting of firearm injury data and information, the
    42  basis for such differences, and how such differences may be addressed;
    43    (d) an assessment of the need for improved  epidemiological  data  and
    44  information  concerning  firearm  injuries, including information on the
    45  frequency and distribution of such injuries and the  specific  types  of
    46  firearms associated with various injuries;
    47    (e) an identification of any opportunities for, or barriers to, a more
    48  uniform  statewide  approach to the collection and reporting of data and
    49  information from both law enforcement agencies and health  care  provid-
    50  ers,  concerning incidents of firearm violence and injury, with full and
    51  proper regard to the  protection  of  the  rights  of  victims  of  such
    52  violence and injury and the rights of criminal defendants;
    53    (f)  a  recommendation  of a state agency to assume responsibility for
    54  the planning and  coordination  of  a  statewide  data  and  information
    55  network  comprised  of firearm violence and injury data as reported from
    56  state and local law enforcement agencies and health care providers,  and

        S. 1467                             3

     1  designed  to  be  used  in formulating public health strategies to deter
     2  firearm violence and injuries; and
     3    (g)  an  identification of public health policies and strategies which
     4  may arise from a statewide  data  and  information  network  on  firearm
     5  violence  and  injuries,  and focused on the prevention of such violence
     6  and injuries.
     7    The task force shall meet as frequently as its  business  may  require
     8  and  members  of  the task force shall receive no compensation for their
     9  services, but shall be  allowed  their  actual  and  necessary  expenses
    10  incurred in performance of their duties.
    11    §  5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire February
    12  1, 2023 when it shall be deemed repealed.