STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2518 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 17, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental Health AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to providing an authorized police officer or peace officer the ability to request ambulance service The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 9.45 of the mental hygiene law, as amended by 2 section 6 of part AA of chapter 57 of the laws of 2021, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 § 9.45 Emergency assessment for immediate observation, care, and treat- 5 ment; powers of directors of community services. 6 (a) The director of community services or the director's designee 7 shall have the power to direct the removal of any person, within [his or 8 her] such director's jurisdiction, to a hospital approved by the commis- 9 sioner pursuant to subdivision (a) of section 9.39 of this article, or 10 to a comprehensive psychiatric emergency program pursuant to subdivision 11 (a) of section 9.40 of this article, if the parent, adult sibling, 12 spouse or child of the person, the committee or legal guardian of the 13 person, a licensed psychologist, registered professional nurse or certi- 14 fied social worker currently responsible for providing treatment 15 services to the person, a supportive or intensive case manager currently 16 assigned to the person by a case management program which program is 17 approved by the office of mental health for the purpose of reporting 18 under this section, a licensed physician, health officer, peace officer 19 or police officer reports to [him or her] such director that such person 20 has a mental illness for which immediate care and treatment is appropri- 21 ate and which is likely to result in serious harm to [himself or 22 herself] such person or others. It shall be the duty of peace officers, 23 when acting pursuant to their special duties, or police officers, who 24 are members of an authorized police department or force or of a sher- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06085-01-5
A. 2518 2 1 iff's department to assist representatives of such director to take into 2 custody and transport any such person. [Upon the request of a director 3 of community services or the director's designee an] An ambulance 4 service, as defined in subdivision two of section three thousand one of 5 the public health law, is authorized to transport any such person upon 6 request of a director of community services, the director's designee, a 7 peace officer acting pursuant to their special duties or an authorized 8 police officer on behalf of the director of community services or the 9 director's designee. Such person may then be retained in a hospital 10 pursuant to the provisions of section 9.39 of this article or in a 11 comprehensive psychiatric emergency program pursuant to the provisions 12 of section 9.40 of this article. 13 (b) A person otherwise determined to meet the criteria for an emergen- 14 cy assessment pursuant to this section may voluntarily agree to be 15 transported to a crisis stabilization center under section 36.01 of this 16 chapter for care and treatment and, in accordance with this article, an 17 assessment by the crisis stabilization center determines that they are 18 able to meet the service needs of the person. 19 § 2. Section 9.45 of the mental hygiene law, as amended by chapter 343 20 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows: 21 § 9.45 Emergency admissions for immediate observation, care, and treat- 22 ment; powers of directors of community services. 23 The director of community services or [his] such director's designee 24 shall have the power to direct the removal of any person, within [his] 25 such director's jurisdiction, to a hospital approved by the commissioner 26 pursuant to subdivision (a) of section 9.39 of this article if the 27 parent, spouse, or child of the person, a licensed physician, health 28 officer, peace officer or police officer reports to [him] such director 29 that such person has a mental illness for which immediate care and 30 treatment in a hospital is appropriate and which is likely to result in 31 serious harm to himself or others, as defined in section 9.39 of this 32 article. It shall be the duty of peace officers, when acting pursuant to 33 their special duties, or police officers, who are members of an author- 34 ized police department or force or of a sheriff's department to assist 35 representatives of such director to take into custody and transport any 36 such person. [Upon the request of a director of community services or 37 his designee an] An ambulance service, as defined in subdivision two of 38 section three thousand one of the public health law, is authorized to 39 transport any such person upon request of a director of community 40 services, the director's designee, a peace officer acting pursuant to 41 their special duties or an authorized police officer on behalf of the 42 director of community services or the director's designee. Such person 43 may then be retained pursuant to the provisions of section 9.39 of this 44 article. 45 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that 46 the amendments to section 9.45 of the mental hygiene law made by section 47 one of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such 48 section pursuant to chapter 723 of the laws of 1989, as amended, when 49 upon such date the provisions of section two of this act shall take 50 effect.