N.Y. MHY Law § 19.09 — New York Code / Act MHY / Title D / Article 19 / Section 19.09
Powers of the office and commissioner; how exercised
Status: in_force

§ 19.09 Powers of the office and commissioner; how exercised.\n  (a) The commissioner shall exercise all powers vested in the office.\nHe or she may delegate any function, power, or duty assigned to him or\nher or to the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services to a\ndirector of a facility operated by such office or to any other officer\nor employee of such office, unless otherwise provided by law.\n  (1) The commissioner may enter into agreements with the other\ncommissioners of the department in order to ensure that programs and\nservices are provided for all of the mentally disabled.\n  (2) Upon the request of a state agency, including but not limited to\nthe department of corrections and community supervision, the office of\nprobation and correctional alternatives, and the office of children and\nfamily services, the commissioner shall have the power to provide\nalcoholism, substance abuse, and chemical dependence services either\ndirectly or through agreements with local certified or approved\nproviders to persons in the custody or under the jurisdiction of the\nrequesting agency within amounts available and within priorities\nestablished through the planning process.\n  (3) The commissioner may coordinate alcoholism, alcohol abuse,\nsubstance abuse, substance dependence and chemical dependence related\nactivities in all departments of the state by convening at regular\nintervals a coordinating committee of representatives of the departments\nof health, corrections and community supervision, labor, economic\ndevelopment, education, and motor vehicles, and the office of temporary\nand disability assistance and any other department or agency having an\ninterest therein.\n  (4) The commissioner shall meet on an ongoing basis with the\nrepresentatives of the New York state conference of local mental hygiene\ndirectors to promote coordination and consistency of plans, rules, and\nregulations governing the planning and financing of the care, treatment,\nand rehabilitation of alcohol and substance abusers, to promote\ncoordination with the other offices of the department, and to assist\nlocal governmental units in fulfilling their responsibilities pursuant\nto this chapter.\n  (b) The commissioner may adopt regulations necessary and proper to\nimplement any matter under his or her jurisdiction. Proposed rules and\nregulations regarding chemical dependence services shall be submitted to\nthe advisory council on alcoholism and substance abuse services for its\nadvice, in accordance with this article, unless the commissioner finds\nthat the public health, safety, or general welfare requires that such\nregulation be promulgated as an emergency rulemaking.\n  (c) In conducting any investigation, audit, financial review,\ninspection, or hearing, the commissioner may subpoena witnesses, compel\ntheir attendance, administer oaths to witnesses, examine witnesses under\noath, and require the production of any books or papers deemed relevant\nto the investigation, inspection, or hearing. Subpoenas issued shall be\nregulated by the civil practice law and rules. The confidentiality of\ninformation obtained by the commissioner from patients' records shall be\nmaintained in accordance with state and federal law.\n  (d) The commissioner shall survey and analyze the state's needs, and\nwith the advice of the advisory council on alcoholism and substance\nabuse services, shall, in accordance with the requirements of section\n5.07 and article twenty-five of this chapter, as it pertains to\nsubstance abuse services, and article forty-one of this chapter, as it\npertains to alcoholism services, formulate a comprehensive plan for long\nrange development, through utilization of a network of federal, state,\nlocal and private resources, of adequate services and facilities for the\nprevention and control of chemical abuse or dependence and from time to\ntime revise such plan, ensuring that such plans have as part of their\ngoal the delivery of services to the elderly and women and children,\nincluding pregnant women unless such programs have provided for the\ntreatment of pregnant women through a transfer agreement with another\nprovider.\n  (e) The commissioner shall execute the policies of the state\nconcerning alcoholism and substance abuse services.\n  (1) In furtherance thereof, within the amounts made available by\nappropriation and with the approval of the division of the budget, the\ncommissioner shall have the authority to make grants or enter into\nagreements with alcoholism or substance abuse programs, or other\nappropriate entities. Special emphasis shall be placed on those\ngeographic areas with a high prevalence of alcoholism, alcohol abuse,\nsubstance abuse, substance dependence, or chemical dependence.\n  (2) The office shall be the authority, when designated by the\ngovernor, to supervise and administer financial or technical assistance\nas the designee under a state plan or as may be required by federal\nlegislation making such assistance available for programs or activities\nin alcoholism, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, substance dependence, and\nchemical dependence, and other areas under its jurisdiction and control.\n  (f) The commissioner shall administer all state, local, private, and\nfederal funds, excluding those provided under title XIX or XX of the\nfederal social security act, made available to the state for the\nprovision of alcoholism, substance abuse, or chemical dependence\nservices subject to the approval of the director of the budget.\n  (g) The commissioner shall establish and operate chemical dependence\nprograms, facilities, and services for the prevention, treatment, and\nrehabilitation, including relapse prevention and recovery maintenance,\nof persons who abuse or are dependent on alcohol and/or substances, and\nsignificant others not limited to the psychiatric model but embodying\nall recognized or promising approaches.\n  (h) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations requiring\nthe division of horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering and the division\nof gaming to provide for the posting of signs in facilities regulated by\nthe division of horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering and facilities\nregulated by the division of gaming advising patrons where to get help\nin dealing with a compulsion to gamble. In addition, the information\ncontained on such signs shall be posted on the internet at appropriate\ninternet sites. Such signs and information posted on the internet shall\ninclude, but not be limited to, notice of the availability of one or\nmore organizations, approved by the commissioner, that offer assistance\nin the prevention and treatment of compulsive gambling. Such signs, not\nless than eight and one-half inches by eleven inches, shall be posted in\na prominent manner and within reasonable distance of each entrance and\nexit by the facility that conducts the gambling. Such signs shall be\navailable at the division of gaming and the office of alcoholism and\nsubstance abuse services and shall be distributed by the division of\ngaming.\n  (i) (1) The office, in cooperation with the department of\nenvironmental conservation, shall post on the office website information\nwhich includes but is not limited to the required steps and guidelines\nfor any municipality, pharmacy, local law enforcement agency, or\ncommunity group to conduct a household pharmaceutical collection event.\n  (2) Pursuant to section 27-2703 of the environmental conversation law,\nas added by chapter six hundred twenty-five of the laws of two thousand\neight, the commissioner, in consultation with the department may assist\nin the development of a public information program on the proper\ndisposal of drugs and drug disposal sites. The office shall disseminate\nsuch information by any means deemed appropriate by the commissioner.\n  (j) (1) The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of\nhealth, shall create or utilize existing educational materials regarding\nthe dangers of misuse and the potential for addiction to prescription\ncontrolled substances, treatment resources available, and the proper way\nto dispose of unused prescription controlled substances in accordance\nwith paragraph two of this subdivision.\n  (i) Such materials shall be made available to pharmacies registered in\nthe state, and shall be distributed at the time of dispensing with any\nprescribed drug that is a controlled substance. Information disseminated\npursuant to this paragraph may, at the option of the consumer, be\ndistributed through electronic means.\n  (ii) Such materials shall also be posted on the website of the office\nof alcoholism and substance abuse services and of the department of\nhealth, and shall be provided in languages other than English as deemed\nappropriate by the commissioners, but shall include the ten most\ncommonly spoken languages, aside from English, in the state.\n  (2) The educational materials required in paragraph one of this\nsubdivision shall include the following:\n  (a) the risks of using or consuming such controlled substances;\n  (b) the physical, behavioral and advanced warning signs of addiction\nto such controlled substances;\n  (c) the HOPELINE telephone contract number (1-877-8-HOPE-NY) and text\n(HOPENY) for the HOPELINE operated by the office, or any number that\nsucceeds the HOPELINE;\n  (d) the procedures for the safe disposal of unused controlled\nsubstances established pursuant to section thirty-three hundred\nforty-three-b of the public health law; and\n  (e) such other information as the commissioner shall determine to be\nnecessary or informative relating to the use, consumption or abuse of,\nor addiction to controlled substances.\n  (3) A pharmacy may also provide additional information regarding the\nsafe disposal of controlled substances, including but not limited to any\ndisposal program that such pharmacy is operating or participating in\noutside of the programs under section thirty-three hundred forty-three-b\nof the public health law.\n  (k) The commissioner, in consultation with the New York state gaming\ncommission, is authorized and directed to commission a statewide\nevaluation regarding the extent of gambling by New York state residents,\nincluding, but not limited to the lottery, horse racing, Native American\ncasinos, internet gambling, sports betting, and poker. Such evaluation\nshall be delivered to the governor and legislature no later than\nDecember first, two thousand twenty-three. The evaluation shall be\nprepared by an independent entity and selected through a request for\nproposal process. Such evaluation shall include:\n  (1) the percentage of New York residents participating in each\ngambling activity by:\n  (a) age;\n  (b) race;\n  (c) income;\n  (d) education;\n  (e) sex; and\n  (f) any other demographic that would be relevant to the evaluation;\nand\n  (2) an estimate of the amount of money being wagered and lost by New\nYork residents in each gambling activity.\n  * (l)(1) The office, in consultation with the department of health,\nshall maintain on its website a publicly available directory of all\ndistributors of opioid antagonists to the public, including but not\nlimited to, pharmacies, prevention programs and not-for-profits. As used\nin this subdivision, the following terms shall have the following\nmeanings:\n  (i) "Opioid" means an opiate as defined in section thirty-three\nhundred two of the public health law.\n  (ii) "Opioid antagonist" means a federal food and drug\nadministration-approved drug that, when administered, negates or\nneutralizes in whole or in part the pharmacological effects of an opioid\nin the body. The opioid antagonist shall be limited to naloxone or other\nmedications approved by the department of health for this purpose.\n  (2) The directory required by this subdivision shall include and be\nsearchable by the following information:\n  (i) addresses of each distributor of opioid antagonists;\n  (ii) contact information, such as phone numbers or email addresses,\nfor each distributor;\n  (iii) services offered by each distributor at each location if more\nthan one, as well as information providing which opioid antagonists are\ncurrently available at each distributor;\n  (iv) special populations served;\n  (v) insurance providers accepted;\n  (vi) hours of operation of each distributor;\n  (vii) contact information of opioid addiction prevention programs; and\n  (viii) any other information the commissioner deems necessary.\n  (3) The office may utilize an existing directory to satisfy the\nrequirements of this subdivision.\n  * NB There are 2 sb (l)'s\n  * (l) The commissioner shall identify or develop educational materials\nregarding compulsive gambling for the purpose of informing individuals\nabout the dangers of problem gambling as well as treatment opportunities\nthat may be available to them. Such educational materials shall be\nprovided to individuals when they voluntarily place themselves on a\nself-exclusion list of an association or corporation licensed or\nenfranchised by the New York state gaming commission pursuant to section\none hundred eleven of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law.\nSuch materials shall also be made available on the website of the\noffice. To the extent that a gaming facility licensed pursuant to\narticle thirteen of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law\nhas already created materials pursuant to section thirteen hundred\nsixty-two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law that\neffectuate the intent of this subdivision, such educational materials\nmay be utilized by the gaming facility instead of ones identified or\ndeveloped by the commissioner.\n  * NB There are 2 sb (l)'s\n