Int. No. 314-A

By Council Members Ulrich, Vallone, Rosenthal, Rodriguez, Cohen, Richards, Deutsch, Maisel, Gentile, Koslowitz, Koo, Constantinides, Van Bramer, Espinal, Johnson, Menchaca, Levin, Lancman, Cabrera, Wills, Greenfield, Crowley, Treyger, Dickens, Cornegy, Eugene, Palma, Gibson, Mealy, Miller, Ferreras-Copeland, Kallos, King, Rose, Torres, Arroyo, Levine, Chin, Cumbo, Williams, Lander, Mendez, Reynoso, Dromm, Barron, Matteo and the Public Advocate (Ms. James)

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the establishment of a department of veterans’ services, and repealing section 14 of the New York city charter and subchapter 3 of chapter one of title 3 of the administrative code of the city of New York, relating to the office of veterans affairs

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Section 14 of the New York city charter is REPEALED.

§ 2. The New York city charter is amended by adding a new chapter 75 to read as follows:

Chapter 75

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ SERVICES

§ 3100. Department; commissioner.

§ 3101. Definition.

§ 3102. Powers and duties.

§ 3103. Veterans’ advisory board.

§ 3100. Department; commissioner. There shall be a department of veterans' services, the head of which shall be the commissioner of veterans' services. The commissioner may appoint deputies within available appropriations.

§ 3101. Definition. As used in this chapter, the following term has the following meaning:

Veteran. The term “veteran” shall mean a person who has served in the active military service of the United States and who has been released from such service other than by dishonorable discharge, or who has been furloughed to the reserve.

§ 3102. Powers and duties. a. Except as otherwise provided by law, the commissioner shall have such powers as provided by the director of the state veterans' service agency and shall have the duty to inform military and naval authorities of the United States and assist members of the armed forces and veterans, who are residents of the city, and their families, in relation to: (1) matters pertaining to educational training and retraining services and facilities, (2) health, medical and rehabilitation service and facilities, (3) provisions of federal, state and local laws and regulations affording special rights and privileges to members of the armed forces and veterans and their families, (4) employment  and re-employment services, and (5) other matters of similar, related or appropriate nature. The commissioner shall also assist families of members of the reserve components of the armed forces and the organized militia ordered into active duty to ensure that they are made aware of and are receiving all appropriate support available to them. The department also shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the state director of the division of veterans' affairs.

b. The commissioner shall utilize, so far as possible, the services, commissions, boards, bureaus, institutions and other agencies of the state and of the political subdivisions thereof and all such officers and agencies shall cooperate with and extend such services and facilities to the department as it may require.

§ 3103. Veterans’ advisory board. There shall be a veterans' advisory board consisting of eleven members, all of whom shall be veterans, six of whom shall be appointed by the mayor and five of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the council. Of these eleven appointees, there shall be one representative from each of the five boroughs of the city of New York. The mayor and the speaker shall each consider service in conflicts involving members of the United States armed forces when making such appointments. All members shall serve for a term of three years and may be removed by the appointing official for cause. Members of the advisory board shall elect by majority vote one such member to serve as chairperson and one such member to serve as vice-chairperson, each to serve in that capacity for one-year terms. In the event of a vacancy on the advisory board during the term of office of a member by reason of removal, death, resignation, or otherwise, a successor shall be chosen in the same manner as the original appointment. A member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the balance of the unexpired term. The advisory board shall (i) advise the commissioner on all matters concerning veterans; (ii) hold at least one meeting open to the public in each borough on an annual basis, with notice of each public meeting provided in accordance with the public notice requirements of article 7 of the public officers law except with respect to those requirements provided in section 31-105 of the administrative code, and with each public meeting recorded and broadcast in accordance with subdivision d of section 1063 of the charter; (iii) keep a record of its deliberations; (iv) determine its own rules of  procedure; and (v) submit an annual report of its activities to the mayor and the council on or before December 31 of each year. Such annual report should include policy and legislative recommendations for the department of veterans' services and the council.

§ 3. Subchapter 3 of chapter one of title 3 of the administrative code of the city of New York is REPEALED.

§ 4. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new title 31 to read as follows:

TITLE 31

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ SERVICES

§ 31-101 Definitions.

§ 31-102 Employment resources.

§ 31-103 Veteran liaisons.

§ 31-104 Veterans’ advisory board electronic mail addresses.

§ 31-105 Additional notice of public meetings of the veterans’ advisory board.

§ 31-101 Definitions. As used in this title, the following terms have the following meanings:

Commissioner. The term “commissioner” means the commissioner of veterans’ services.

Department. The term “department” means the New York city department of veterans’ services.

§ 31-102 Employment resources. a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:

Federal veterans job bank. The term “federal veterans job bank” means the job bank developed by the federal government for veterans or any subsequent online tool that the federal government utilizes to connect veterans with employment opportunities.

City job. The term “city job” means employment with the government of the city of New York.

b. The department shall publish on its website information concerning resources intended to assist veterans in obtaining employment including, but not limited to:

1. a link to the federal veterans job bank;

2. links to websites describing veteran employment services provided by the federal government and New York state government, including, but not limited to, the websites of the United States department of labor, the New York state department of labor, the United States department of veterans affairs, and the New York state division of veterans’ affairs; and

3. links to any additional resources deemed relevant by the department.

c. The department shall consult with the department of citywide administrative services and other appropriate city agencies to identify city job postings for inclusion in the federal veterans job bank and shall also ensure that such city job postings are included in such job bank and are updated as necessary to maintain accuracy.

d. The department shall consult with the department of small business services to identify job postings that are received or maintained by the department for inclusion in the federal veterans job bank and shall also ensure that such job postings are included in such job bank and are updated as necessary to maintain accuracy.

§ 31-103 Veteran liaisons. The head of each city agency shall designate an employee to act as liaison with veterans within such agency and shall notify the department of the name and contact information of such liaison. Such liaison shall advise veterans within such agency of benefits and services available to veterans at such agency and employee personnel policies applicable to veterans at such agency. At the request of the department, the head of each city agency shall make such liaison available to confer with and receive periodic training from the department. The department shall post on its website the names of persons designated to act as such liaison within each agency.

§ 31-104 Veterans'  advisory  board  electronic  mail addresses. Upon appointment to the board, every member of the veterans' advisory  board, as  constituted  pursuant to section 3103 of the  charter,  shall  create  an  electronic  mail  address   dedicated exclusively  to  the conduct of the business of the board. The department shall make such electronic mail address available to the public on the department’s website no later than thirty days after the  commencement  of  the  member's  term  of appointment. Such electronic mail address may not be commingled with any other personal or professional electronic mail addresses held or maintained by the members of the board. The department may establish guidelines to promote uniformity in the formatting of any electronic mail address created pursuant to this section.

§ 31-105 Additional notice of public meetings of the veterans' advisory board. The  department shall ensure that notice of any public meeting of the veterans' advisory board  held pursuant to section 3103 of the charter is posted on the department’s website with the date, time and location of each public meeting, and that such notice is posted not less than one week prior to each public meeting. The department shall also maintain and periodically update the contact information of veterans organizations located within   the city and shall notify such organizations by regular or electronic  mail of the date, time and location of each public meeting of the veterans' advisory board not less than one week prior to each public meeting.

§ 5. This local law takes effect 120 days after it becomes law.

KET/ENB

LS #874/2014

11/2/15 7:53 PM