2023 New York Laws › MHY - Mental Hygiene › Title E - General Provisions › Article 82 - Supported Decision-Making › 82.05 - Duties, Responsibilities, and Authority of Supporters.

* § 82.05 Duties, responsibilities, and authority of supporters.
(a) A supporter must:
1.  respect  the  decision-maker's right to make a decision, even when
the supporter disagrees with the decision or believes it is not  in  the
decision-maker's best interests;
2. act honestly, diligently, and in good faith;
3.   act  within  the  scope  set  forth  in  the  executed  supported
decision-making agreement;
4. avoid conflicts of interest;
5.  notify  the  decision-maker  in  writing,  and  in  a  manner  the
decision-maker  can understand, of the supporter's intent to resign as a
supporter; and
6. participate in facilitation  and/or  education  programs  developed
under   regulations   promulgated   by   the   office  for  people  with
developmental  disabilities  in  order  to  enter  a  formal   supported
decision-making agreement.
(b) A supporter is prohibited from:
1.  making  decisions  for  the  decision-maker,  except to the extent
otherwise granted in an advance directive;
2. exerting undue influence upon the decision-maker;
3. physically coercing the decision-maker;
4. obtaining, without the consent of the  decision-maker,  information
acquired for a purpose other than assisting the decision-maker in making
a decision authorized by the supported decision-making agreement;
5.  obtaining,  without  the  consent  of  the  decision-maker,  or as
expressly  granted  by  the  supported  decision-making  agreement,  and
accompanied by an appropriate release, nonpublic personal information as
defined  in  15  U.S.C. § 6809(4)(A), or clinical records or information
under subdivision (c) of section 33.13 of this chapter; and
6. communicating a decision-maker's decision to a third-party  without
the participation and presence of the decision-maker.
(c)  The  relationship between a decision-maker and a supporter is one
of trust and confidence  and  serves  to  preserve  the  decision-making
authority of the decision-maker.
(d)  A  supporter  shall  not  be considered a surrogate or substitute
decision maker for the decision-maker and shall not have  the  authority
to  sign  legal  documents  on  behalf of the decision-maker or bind the
decision-maker to a legal agreement,  but  may,  if  such  authority  is
expressly  granted  in  the supported decision-making agreement, provide
co-signature together with the decision-maker acknowledging the  receipt
of  statements  of  rights  and  responsibilities  in  order  to  permit
participation in such programs or activities that the decision-maker has
communicated a choice to participate in.
(e) If expressly granted by the supported  decision-making  agreement,
and  the decision-maker has signed an appropriate release, the supporter
may assist the decision-maker in obtaining educational records under the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.  §  1232g),
protected  health information under the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of  1996  (45  CFR  §§  164.502,  164.508),  clinical
records  and  information under subdivision (c) of section 33.13 of this
chapter, or patient information under  subdivisions  two  and  three  of
section eighteen of the public health law.
(f)   A   supporter   shall  ensure  the  information  obtained  under
subdivision (e) of this section is kept privileged and confidential,  as
applicable,   and  is  not  subject  to  unauthorized  access,  use,  or
disclosure.
* NB Effective 90 days from the date that the  regulations  issued  in
accordance  with § 1 of chapter 481 of 2022 appear in the New York State
Register or the date such regulations are adopted, whichever is later.