BILL NUMBER: S896A
SPONSOR: MARTINEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to the establishment of
local comprehensive emergency management plans
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this legislation is to ensure local emergency management
plans include animal accommodation preparation and public communication
that considers the needs of persons with vision or hearing impairments.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Subdivision 5 and paragraph b of subdivision 7 of section 2
23 of the executive law, subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 385 of the
3 laws of 2017, paragraph b of subdivision 7 as amended by section 4 of
4 part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, subparagraph 13 of paragraph
b 5 of subdivision 7 as amended by chapter 724 of the laws of 2022, are
6 amended to require county emergency management plans include the iden-
tification of temporary housing or other facilities that will be desig-
nated as an imal friendly, to develop partnerships with local and munic-
ipal animal shelters, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals,
county animal response teams and veterinary services to assist in
responding to emergencies involving animals, and to ensure public commu-
nication considers the needs of persons with vision or hearing impair-
ments.
Section 2. Establishes the enacting clause.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Each county prepares a comprehensive emergency management plan to mini-
mize the effect of disasters through the coordination and distribution
of resources, mitigation efforts and preparations for recovery and rede-
velopment. Such plans are vital in securing the safety of residents and
enabling efficient emergency response and evacuation if necessary.
To that end, it is critical animal accommodations are included in such
planning to ensure residents with companion animals have the information
needed to plan and respond accordingly. Nonprofits such as the Red Cross
often encourage households to establish a plan fortheir companion
animal/s in the event of an emergency, however, it becomes challenging
when there is uncertainty if animals will be accepted at temporary hous-
ing evacuation sites. Research has consistently demonstrated residents
are less likely to evacuate in fear of leaving companion animals behind,
further demonstrating the significance of including animal accommo-
dations in emergency planning 1.
Communication coordination is another vital component of emergency
management plans, playing a key role in resiliency, public health, and
safety. Local dissemination of information to the public must consider
accessibility needs of residents with vision or hearing impairments. In
2020, the New York State mass notification system NY-Alert was updated
to ensure people with complete loss of sight have access to lifesaving
information concerning forthcoming storms and other emergencies 2.
Bringing this awareness into local emergency management plans will
expand upon the state's efforts in being inclusive and holistic in emer-
gency planning. This legislation seeks to fill these gaps to proactively
strengthen our counties and communities' ability to mitigate and respond
to emergencies.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
Chadwin R. Evacuation of Pets During Disasters: 1 A Public Health
Intervention to Increase Resilience. Am J Public Health. 2017
Sep;107(9):1413-1417. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303877. Epub 2017 Jul 20.
PMID: 28727532; PMCID: PMC5551593. 2 Newsday, 2021. Agreement reached
to make NY emergency alerts accessible for blind people. Retrieved from:
https://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/emergency-alerts-new-york-
blind people-lawsuit-b89364