GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS BILL TO EXPAND DISABILITY BENEFIT ELIGIBILITY TO ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS IN WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE AND RECOVERY

Signs Additional Law to Improve Patient Safety by Giving Consumers More Information, Strengthening Oversight of Physicians and Enhancing Infection Control Measures

Governor David A. Paterson signed a package of bills into law this week which will improve education and health care programs for New Yorkers and spur economic development through support of small businesses and regulatory reform.

Among the bills in the package are two of the Governor’s program bills including one which clarifies and strengthens the authority of the Board for Professional Medical Conduct to discipline physicians and enhance infection control training (S.8298-A Hannon / A.11136-A Gottfried) and another to expand eligibility for disability benefits to participants in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and clean-up (S.8676 Golden / A.11730 Silver).

“We have a profound responsibility to provide those who participated in the rescue, recovery and clean-up efforts in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 with the benefits they deserve,” said Governor Paterson. “It is imperative that we continue to provide those workers who face health consequences from their work at Ground Zero with the very best care and the opportunity to apply for disability benefits.”

“We also have a responsibility to better protect patients in New York. Strengthening the disciplinary system for physicians and giving the public more information, combined with enhancing infection control measures, is vital to the safety of all of our citizens,” added Paterson.

The Governor also vetoed 34 bills.

Additional Bills Signed into Law Include:

S.8212 Robach / A.10847 Eddington – Enacts the worker adjustment and retraining notification (WARN) act

S.7982-A Saland / A.11231 Paulin – Relates to future responsibilities of the restraint and crisis intervention technique committee

A.8358-B Bradley / S.4838-B Kruger – Relates to the legal powers of custodians and guardians of children

Business:

A.9038 Weinstein/S.1268-A DeFrancisco – Makes changes relating to trust accounting income and the optional unitrust; repealer

A.10981 Sweeney/S.7739 Skelos – Increases from $300,000 to $950,000, the maximum amount of any small business loan certain joint ventures are authorized to make

A.11096 Weinstein/S.7997 DeFrancisco – Relates to the transfer-on-death security registration act

S.314 Maziarz/A.732 Christensen – Requires the department of economic development and the governor's office of regulatory reform to jointly prepare an annual summary on small business issues

S.7721-B Farley/A.11255-B Tedisco – Relates to the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority Act

Education Bills:

S.3063-A LaValle/A.8167-A Glick – Enacts the "textbook access act"

S.5868 Padavan/A.7837 Nolan – Relates to anniversary day

S.8497 Saland/A.11550 Rules (Weisenberg) – Relates to the training of special education teachers and administrators in the needs of children with autism

A.10887 Sweeney/S.8149 Johnson O – Authorizes the Copiague union free school district to receive state aid for certain approved capital funded projects

A.11628 Rules (Gantt)/S.8538 Robach – Validates certain acts done and proceedings taken by the Rochester city school district

S.6455-A Bonacic/A.9412-A Crouch – Provides that Margaretville central school district shall be entitled to full aid notwithstanding the fact that they were in session for only 179 days

S.7003 Little/A.10138 McDonald – Authorizes the education department to approve a contract of the Whitehall central school district for transportation to the school for the blind in Batavia

S.8051-B Morahan/A.10915-B Zebrowski K – Authorizes the payment of transportation aid to the Clarkstown central school district

S.8313-B Rath/A.11318-B Hawley – Provides for the payment to Genesee Valley BOCES of state aid for certain capital improvement projects

S.8537 Volker/A.11644 Rules (Burling) – Provides for state aid for certain transportation contracts of the Warsaw central school district

Health:

A.9685-A Lupardo/S.7183-A Morahan – Relates to adding two members to the mental health services council

A.10671 Gottfried/S.8133 Maziarz – Extends until December 31, 2010, the expiration of authorization to pay medicare part B premiums to certain medicaid recipients

Labor:

S.6383 Bruno/A.9447 Gordon T – Authorizes the reinstatement of Eric M. Jukes to the department of civil service as an employee thereof

S.7637 Young/A.10740 Giglio – Provides that the court clerk of the town of Gerry need not be a resident of such town

Local Bills – Other:

S.7345 LaValle/A.10421 Sweeney – Extends the time period for completing an audit of a service award program

S.7546A DeFrancisco/A.10586-A Stirpe – Authorizes the village of North Syracuse, county of Onondaga to discontinue as parkland a certain parcel no longer needed for park purposes

S.8189-A Rath/A.11024-A Cole – Authorizes Town of Clarence in Erie County to alienate park land

A.11222-A Pheffer/S.8289-A Smith – Authorizes the city of New York to sell waterfront property and land under water appurtenant thereto, owned by such city

S.8271 Perkins/A.11182 Wright – Authorizes the city of New York to reconvey certain property to the Sacred Heart African Orthodox Church, Inc.

A.9092 Jaffee/S.1475 Morahan – Authorizes Northeastern Conference Corporation of Seventh Day Adventists to file an application for a real property tax exemption

A.10771 Magee/S.8236 Valesky – Authorizes the town of Sullivan to accept an application for real property tax exemption from the Sullivan Free Library

S.7307 Morahan/A.9852 Jaffee – Authorizes Camp Venture, Inc., to file an application for a real property tax exemption

S.8592 Farley/A.11246 Tedisco – Authorizes Home Furnishings Program, Inc. to file an application for a real property tax exemption

A.7817-A Peoples / S.5525-A Thompson – Authorizes the expenditure of proceeds from bonds issued by the city of Buffalo for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of streets, curbs and sidewalks

A.10167 Schimminger / S.7026 Volker – Amends the Erie County Tax Act to change the dates of the assessment calendar applicable to real property situated in the towns in the county of Erie

A.7934-B Hoyt / S.5562- B Volker – Allows the Buffalo City School District to refund bonds issued to finance Buffalo Schools Reconstruction Program capital projects

A.11293-B Hoyt / S.7965-B Volker – Provides for the financing of additional projects for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing facilities in the city of Buffalo

Vetoed Bills Include:

A.31-A Clark / S.2446-A Diaz – Authorizes department of transportation to survey areas with a high incidence of pedestrian accidents involving senior citizens

A.537-B Paulin / S.2173-B Lanza - Provides incentives for owners of bars and restaurants to have employees who serve alcoholic beverages, take an alcoholic beverage training course, allowing them to receive reduced liability insurance rates

A.5740-A Englebright / S.5465-A Golden – Authorizes the development of a fall and injury prevention program and the creation of a fall and injury prevention coordinating council

A.6906 Koon / S.3581 Flanagan – Requires state economic development agencies to provide preferences to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the programs that they administer

A.8074 Gianaris / S.6782 Young – Provides that no agency may issue guidance documents where and to the extent that duly promulgated rules or regulations are required by law

A.8075 Gianaris / S.6781 Young – Authorizes the use of innovative techniques to enhance public participation in the rule making process

A.9297-A Gunther / S.6379-A Bonacic – Establishes the Upper Delaware River Greenway fund and creates the Upper Delaware River Greenway council

A.9500-A Schroeder / S.8628 Robach – Relates to empire zone enterprises and the empire zone exemption

A.9898 Abbate / S.7158 Maltese – Relates to additional considerations for public arbitration panels relating to certain employees of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority

A.9997 Weprin / S.7135 Alesi – Creates the "New York entrepreneur of the year award"

A.10324-A Millman / S.7295-A Golden – Exempts the amount of digital-to-analog converter box coupons issued by the national telecommunications and information administration from sales tax

A.11303 Molinaro / S.8312 Leibell – Relates to state aid payments to the Northeast central school district

S.2038 LaValle / A.3897 Brodsky – Includes Lyme disease as an occupational disease which is compensable under the workers' compensation law

S.4022-A Bonacic / A.11675-B Rules Young – Establishes the state multi-agency council on access to durable medical equipment for the disabled to increase timely access thereto for certain eligible persons

S.4255-D Breslin / A.7058-D McEneny – Provides for payments in lieu of taxes for property on which there is constructed the W. Averill Harriman State Office Building Campus

S.4321-A Libous / A.11474 Rules Crouch – Appoints certain individuals to full-time competitive positions as patrolmen for certain villages

S.5162 Morahan / A.9911 Jaffee – Requires county boards of elections to submit ballots to state board of elections for approval when statewide candidates or other matters appear

S.6652 Robach / A.9892 Abbate – Provides the criteria by which civil service employees may be reassigned

S.6703 Morahan / A.10016 Jaffee – Clarifies presumptions pertaining to heart-related disabilities or deaths suffered by members of certain retirement systems

S.6728-A Johnson O / A.9870-A Ramos – Requires the transfer of certain lands to Oak Brush Plain State Reserve

S.6768-A Morahan / A.11221 Rivera P – Develops a mental health providers health insurance survey tool

S.6799-C Fuschillo / A.10069-C Rivera P – Creates a course of instruction to train mental health providers in veteran specific mental health issues

S.6829 Robach / A.10135-A Abbate – Provides for payment of salary, wages, medical and hospital expenses of members of the state police with injuries or illness incurred in the performance of duties

S.6910 Golden / A.10031 Abbate – Provides for the use of binding arbitration for certain represented members of the unified court system

S.6966-B Golden / A.10436-C Kavanagh – Expands volunteerism by making use of AARP's database and institutes volunteer certificate programs

S.7223 Bonacic / A.10753 Gunther – Require the State Museum to maintain an index of the historic markers in the State, and to make that index available at the museum and online.

S.7273 Bonacic / A.10471 Lentol – Prohibits rules or regulations of the state police prohibiting members from modifying or recommending the modification certain charges before a court

S.8196-A Golden / A.11001-A Millman – Directs the out-of-state placement committee to develop a residential bed plan and authorizes the dormitory authority to finance new facilities

S.8310 Little / A.11341 Sayward – Extends payback by the Warrensburg central school district on state aid overpayments during certain school years to six years beginning with June 1, 2008

S.8429 Morahan / A.11455 Rules Jaffee – Pertains to the effect and rebuttal of certain medical presumptions relating to heart disease

S.8462 Skelos / A.11522 Rules Morelle – Relates to computing the combined allocation percentage of a group of corporations included in a combined report

S.8484 Volker / A.11607 Rules Peoples – Relates to Buffalo fiscal stability authority financial crisis determination

S.8641 Saland / A.11709 Rules Jaffee – Creates the well water education act; requires public education program on the potential hazards of well water

S.8674 Rules / A.6951 Gianaris – Relates to real property capital construction costs and rates of payment for certain assisted living corporations