S 896: Requires the inclusion of local and municipal animal shelters, any duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to animals and veterinary services when establishing local comprehensive emergency management plans; requires that information to the public include the communication accommodation needs of persons with vision or hearing impairments and information on which temporary housing and other necessary facilities are designated as animal-friendly.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 896 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MARTINEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi- ty and Military Affairs AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the establishment of local comprehensive emergency management plans The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 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 read as follows: 7 5. In preparing such plans, cooperation, advice and assistance shall 8 be sought from local government officials, regional and local planning 9 agencies, police agencies, fire departments and fire companies, local 10 emergency management agencies, commercial and volunteer ambulance 11 services, health and social services officials, community action agen- 12 cies, the chief administrator of the courts, organizations for the 13 elderly and the handicapped, agencies and organizations that provide 14 home health care services, agencies and organizations that provide 15 hospice services, local and municipal animal shelters, a society for the 16 prevention of cruelty to animals, veterinary services, other interested 17 groups and the general public. Such advice and assistance may be 18 obtained through public hearings held on public notice, or through other 19 appropriate and practical methods, through which such aforementioned 20 groups may offer their input for consideration on issues that support 21 the effective preparation and execution of the plan. In addition, in the 22 case of home care and hospice, such input may address procedures by EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02780-01-5 
 S. 896 2 1 which such providers may be granted essential access to care for such 2 patients during an emergency. 3 b. Disaster response. Plans to coordinate the use of resources and 4 manpower for service during and after disasters and to deliver services 5 to aid citizens and reduce human suffering resulting from a disaster 6 shall include, but not be limited to: 7 (1) coordination of resources, manpower and services, using recognized 8 practices in incident management, utilizing existing organizations and 9 lines of authority and centralized direction of requests for assistance; 10 (2) the location, procurement, construction, processing, transporta- 11 tion, storing, maintenance, renovation, distribution, disposal or use of 12 materials, including those donated, and facilities and services which 13 may be required in time of disaster; 14 (3) a system for warning populations who are or may be endangered; 15 (4) arrangements for activating municipal and volunteer forces, 16 through normal chains of command so far as possible, and for continued 17 communication and reporting; 18 (5) a specific plan for rapid and efficient communication and for the 19 integration of local communication facilities during a disaster includ- 20 ing the assignment of responsibilities and the establishment of communi- 21 cation priorities and liaison with municipal, private, state and federal 22 communication facilities; 23 (6) (i) a plan for the coordination of evacuation procedures including 24 the establishment of temporary housing and other necessary facilities; 25 and 26 (ii) such plan shall include the identification of temporary housing 27 and other necessary facilities designated as animal-friendly; 28 (7) criteria for establishing priorities with respect to the restora- 29 tion of vital services and debris removal; 30 (8) plans for the continued effective operation of the civil and crim- 31 inal justice systems; 32 (9) provisions for training local government personnel and volunteers 33 in disaster response operations; 34 (10) providing information to the public which shall: 35 (i) consider the communication accommodation needs of persons with 36 vision or hearing impairments; and 37 (ii) include information on which temporary housing and other neces- 38 sary facilities are designated as animal-friendly; 39 (11) care for the injured and needy and identification and disposition 40 of the dead; 41 (12) utilization and coordination of programs to assist victims of 42 disasters, with particular attention to the needs of the poor, the 43 elderly, individuals with disabilities and other groups which may be 44 especially affected; 45 (13) control of ingress and egress to and from a disaster area, 46 including but not limited to, exempting from travel bans those essential 47 private and public personnel, as determined by the commission, who are 48 summoned by their employers to assist in emergency services, such as 49 utility and other workers who need to reach declared emergency areas in 50 order to perform tasks related to the restoration and/or maintenance of 51 energy and communications infrastructure; 52 (14) arrangements to administer state and federal disaster assistance; 53 (15) procedures under which the county, city, town, village or other 54 political subdivision and emergency organization personnel and resources 55 will be used in the event of a disaster; 
 S. 896 3 1 (16) a system for obtaining and coordinating disaster information 2 including the centralized assessment of local disaster effects and 3 resultant needs; 4 (17) continued operation of governments of political subdivisions; 5 [and] 6 (18) utilization and coordination of programs to assist individuals 7 with household pets and service animals following a disaster, with 8 particular attention to means of evacuation, shelter and transportation 9 options[.]; and 10 (19) establishing partnerships with local and municipal animal shel- 11 ters, a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals and veterinary 12 services to assist in responding to emergencies involving animals. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 14 have become a law.