STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2084 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 15, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CHANDLER-WATERMAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the office of gun violence prevention and the gun violence advisory coun- cil The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-y 2 to read as follows: 3 § 837-y. New York state office of gun violence prevention and the gun 4 violence advisory council. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this 5 section: 6 (a) "Advisory council" means the gun violence advisory council estab- 7 lished under subdivision three of this section. 8 (b) "Director" means the director of the New York state office of gun 9 violence prevention. 10 (c) "Gun violence" includes but is not limited to any attempted crime, 11 crime, attempted suicide, suicide, and unintentional injury or death 12 involving a firearm. 13 (d) "Office" means the New York state office of gun violence 14 prevention established under subdivision two of this section. 15 2. Office of gun violence prevention. (a) The office of gun violence 16 prevention created under Executive Order 211 of 2021 is hereby reestab- 17 lished within the division. The office shall: 18 (i) direct the coordination of state, local, and federal government 19 stakeholders and the advisory council to align and advance efforts to 20 prevent and address gun violence impacting state residents. 21 (ii) centralize and coordinate grantmaking opportunities and allo- 22 cations to government and community stakeholders regarding gun violence 23 and gun violence prevention. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01722-03-5A. 2084 2 1 (iii) direct and enhance the state's health systems capacity to 2 prevent and respond to gun violence, including but not limited to state 3 hospital violence prevention initiatives. State and local community 4 violence intervention initiatives and programs. 5 (iv) direct and strengthen timely data collection and data infrastruc- 6 ture and research regarding firearm-related injuries, fatalities, and 7 incidents by focusing on data informed surveillance, prevention, and 8 intervention of gun violence statewide including but not limited to the 9 coordination with the state gun violence research institute. 10 (v) increase public awareness of gun violence and gun violence 11 prevention by conducting public education campaigns and utilizing other 12 strategies to increase knowledge and adoption of best practices related 13 to gun violence prevention, the various types of gun violence that 14 impact New York state, and resources available to individuals at risk of 15 or who have been impacted by gun violence. These campaigns and strate- 16 gies shall be designed in collaboration with government and community 17 stakeholders including but not limited to agencies and offices refer- 18 enced in paragraph (c) of subdivision three of this section. 19 (vi) direct and provide technical assistance, resources, and training 20 to professionals focused on violence intervention and prevention strate- 21 gies and best practices. 22 (vii) communicate regularly with members of the New York state legis- 23 lature and the governor to provide and receive recommendations regarding 24 effective gun violence prevention policy and programs. 25 (b) The head of the office shall be the director who shall be 26 appointed by the commissioner. The director shall oversee the develop- 27 ment and execution of the objectives of the office as established under 28 this section. The director shall hire staff to execute the office's 29 functions, as sufficient government funding permits, including but not 30 limited to three units: 31 (i) administration unit to manage budget, human resources, grant and 32 contract management and coordination; 33 (ii) planning and special projects unit; and 34 (iii) research and evaluation unit. 35 (c) The office shall issue an annual report including, but not limited 36 to, information on the state of gun violence in the state, recommenda- 37 tions for policy and programmatic initiatives to reduce gun violence in 38 the state, and a description of the efforts of the office to carry out 39 the duties and objectives of the office under this subdivision. Such 40 report shall be delivered to the governor, the temporary president of 41 the senate and the speaker of the assembly no later than one year after 42 the effective date of this section, and annually thereafter. Such report 43 shall be published on the division's website. 44 3. Gun Violence Advisory Council. (a) Within one hundred eighty days 45 of the effective date of this section, the commissioner shall convene 46 the gun violence advisory council to share information and resources to 47 provide support and guidance to the office of gun violence prevention 48 and make recommendations regarding the development and execution of the 49 office's responsibilities, strategies, and functions. Such advisory 50 council shall be chaired by the director and shall include no fewer than 51 twelve additional members selected by the director, including but not 52 limited to state, community, and national policy and public health 53 experts as well as a broad range of stakeholders including: 54 (i) a survivor of gun violence. 55 (ii) a senior-level representative from a community violence inter- 56 vention service provider.A. 2084 3 1 (iii) a local public health official. 2 (iv) a medical professional who provides trauma care. 3 (v) a mental health clinician. 4 (vi) a district attorney or a representative designee. 5 (vii) a public school teacher who works in a school district dispro- 6 portionately impacted by gun violence. 7 (viii) a a young person age eighteen or under who has held a community 8 or advocacy leadership role. 9 (ix) a veteran. 10 (x) representatives from relevant state and local government agencies 11 involved and engaged in gun violence prevention initiatives or policy- 12 making. 13 (xi) public safety/law enforcement professionals. 14 (xii) a senior-level representative of a victim service provider. 15 (b) The office shall convene and consult the advisory council on a 16 quarterly basis for the purpose of discussing any of the council's 17 recommendations regarding the development and execution of the office's 18 responsibilities, strategies, and functions. At the discretion of the 19 director, the office may convene and communicate with the advisory coun- 20 sel as determined to be necessary. 21 (c) To comprehensively address gun violence in New York state, the 22 following state executive agencies shall collaborate with the office to 23 support prevention, intervention, and policy implementation strategies 24 including but not limited to the department of health, department of 25 education, department of labor, office of mental health, office of chil- 26 dren and family services, office of victim services, office of temporary 27 and disability assistance, office for the prevention of domestic 28 violence, office of the New York state attorney general, division of 29 homeland security, state police, and all other divisions and offices 30 within the division of criminal justice services. 31 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 32 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment 33 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation 34 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 35 completed on or before such effective date.