S 62: Requires the commissioner of parks, recreation and historic preservation to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the public using facilities under its jurisdiction, which shall include ensuring a minimum staff of three hundred eighty-five permanently appointed, full time regional state park police officers at state parks, beaches, campgrounds, historic sites and concert venues; makes related provisions.
The bill aims to improve public health, safety, and welfare at state parks, beaches, campgrounds, historic sites, and concert venues. The commissioner is required to maintain a minimum staff of 385 permanent, full-time regional state park police officers. The number of police officers deployed to each region will be equivalent to the percentage of each region's five-year attendance average. A new state park, beach, campground, historic site, or concert venue cannot be opened without a staffing plan submitted to the legislature, demonstrating sufficient police presence. In emergency situations, such as natural disasters, declared emergencies, and mass casualty incidents, regional state park police officers can be redeployed outside of their assigned region. The bill takes effect one year after it becomes a law.
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO CULTURAL AFFAIRS, TOURISM, PARKS AND RECREATION |
| Jan. 08, 2025 | REFERRED TO CULTURAL AFFAIRS, TOURISM, PARKS AND RECREATION |
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 62 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GALLIVAN, BORRELLO, HELMING, OBERACKER, RHOADS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation AN ACT to amend the parks, recreation and historic preservation law, in relation to police staffing at certain parks The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 3.07 of the parks, recreation and historic preser- 2 vation law is amended by adding three new subdivisions 3, 4 and 5 to 3 read as follows: 4 3. The commissioner shall provide for the health, safety and welfare 5 of the public using facilities under its jurisdiction, which shall 6 include ensuring a minimum staff of three hundred eighty-five permanent- 7 ly appointed, full time regional state park police officers at state 8 parks, beaches, campgrounds, historic sites and concert venues. The 9 number of regional state park police officers deployed to each region 10 shall be equivalent to the percentage of each region's five year attend- 11 ance average. 12 4. The commissioner shall not open a new state park, beach, camp- 13 ground, historic site or concert venue unless such commissioner submits 14 a staffing plan to the legislature that demonstrates there is a suffi- 15 cient number of regional state park police to provide adequate and 16 appropriate delivery of police services to patrons visiting the new 17 site. 18 5. The commissioner may redeploy regional state park police officers 19 outside of their assigned region in the case of an emergency. Emergen- 20 cies are defined as natural disasters, declared emergencies and mass 21 casualty incidents. 22 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 23 law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00383-01-5