New York Senate Bill S06709 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6709--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE May 5, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary -- recommitted to the Committee on Judiciary in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to provid- ing a testimonial privilege to critical incident stress management/crisis response/peer support team members concerning commu- nications made during critical incident stress management/crisis response services The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "Lieutenant Joseph Banish mental health act". 3 § 2. The civil practice law and rules is amended by adding a new 4 section 4508-a to read as follows: 5 § 4508-a. Critical incident stress management/crisis response/peer 6 support team member. (a) Definitions. As used in this section the 7 following terms shall have the following meanings: 8 1. "Emergency services provider" means any individual working or 9 volunteering in the following service capacities; law enforcement, fire- 10 fighting, emergency medical services, communications/dispatch services, 11 public safety, disaster/emergency managers and disaster responders. 12 2. "Critical incident stress management/crisis response services/peer 13 support" means contact with a trained member of an organized emergency 14 response team who provides intervention, support, consultation, risk 15 assessment, referral and follow-up services. 16 3. "A trained member" means an individual who received specialized 17 training in critical incident stress management/crisis response/peer 18 support and offers services as part of an organized emergency response 19 team. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03381-06-4 
 S. 6709--A 2 1 4. "Critical incident stress management/crisis response/peer support" 2 means a comprehensive, integrated, strategic and multi-component 3 approach to manage critical incident stress during and following inci- 4 dents and/or for any issue that may impact work and family life. Crit- 5 ical incident stress management/crisis response/peer support services 6 may include: 7 (A) Pre-incident education and preparation; 8 (B) Assessment; 9 (C) Crisis intervention; 10 (D) Strategic planning; 11 (E) Large group interventions; 12 (F) Small group interventions; 13 (G) One-on-one assistance; 14 (H) Family critical incident stress management; 15 (I) Organizational, community intervention, and consultation; 16 (J) Pastoral crisis intervention; and 17 (K) Follow-up and referral. 18 (b) Confidential information privileged. A trained member who received 19 specialized training in critical incident stress management/crisis 20 response/peer support as a member of an organized emergency response 21 team shall not be required to disclose oral or written communication, 22 notes, records or reports made by an individual while receiving such 23 services or be required to disclose his/her communications with the 24 individual in need of critical incident stress management/crisis 25 response/peer support services except: 26 1. Where the individual who received critical incident stress 27 management/crisis response services/peer support gives express consent 28 to the testimony; 29 2. The communication reveals the contemplation of a crime or admission 30 of criminal conduct; 31 3. The individual represents harm to self or others; or 32 4. The individual is suspected of child abuse or is at risk for child 33 abuse. 34 (c) Rules and regulations. The division of criminal justice services 35 shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to effectuate this 36 section and shall be empowered to identify minimum certifications 37 required of trained members, approved training courses, record keeping 38 requirements, and retraining requirements. 39 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.