BILL NUMBER: S1242A
SPONSOR: ADDABBO
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to revising the
New York state veteran's memorial and monument registry
 
PURPOSE:
This legislation would require all New York veteran monuments and memo-
rials to be included on the New York State Veterans Memorial Registry
site.
 
SUMMARY OR PROVISIONS:
Section one amends Section 29-a of the veterans' services law, as added
by chapter 14 of the laws of 2023, so that: Subsection 1 changes the
name of the Department of Veterans' Services' memorial registry site
from New York Veterans Memorial Registry' to 'New York State Veteran's
Memorial and Monument Registry.' Subsection 1 also states the registry
is to be maintained by the Department of Veterans Services in collab-
oration with the director of the New York State Military Museum and
Veterans Resource Center, the Commissioner of the Office of Parks,
Recreation and Historic preservation, the Commissioner of the Office of
General Services and, the State Historian, and respective agencies and
veteran organizations within New York towns, villages, counties and
cities.
Subsection 2 defines the parameters of the filterable database, includ-
ing details about the location, history, significance, specific veter-
ans, appropriate images, and other relevant information.
Subsection 3 describes the manner in which the information and data are
to be obtained from cities, counties, towns, villages, and other rele-
vant organizations. Municipalities with a population with over a million
people will have no more than one year to submit requested information.
Municipalities with a population with less than one million will have
120 days. The Department of Veterans' Services will have no more than 60
days to upload the received information to the website.
Section two would set forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Previous legislation (A9590/S8729 and A618/S843) were instrumental in
the implementation of a centralized database of veteran memorials, but
it is limited. This legislation builds upon these pieces of legislation
by requiring veteran monuments to be included in the registry and
mandates a deadline for information to be submitted and uploaded to the
site. This legislation will create an exhaustive list of all veteran
memorials and monuments in New York State, resulting in the honoring of
veterans, the education of the public, and the promotion of tourism.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.