Requires operational safety plans to require employees to check in before taking action at an incident location; directs the office to make efforts to provide employees with operational safety plans, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8767
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 8, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the parks, recreation and historic preservation law,  in
   relation  to requiring operational safety plans to require an employee
   to check in with the incident commander or  safety  officer  prior  to
   taking  action  at  an  incident location, and requiring the office of
   parks, recreation and historic preservation to make reasonable efforts
   to provide employees with incident specific operational  safety  plans
   under certain circumstances
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 3.16 of the  parks,  recre-
 ation  and  historic preservation law, as added by a chapter of the laws
 of 2025 amending the parks, recreation  and  historic  preservation  law
 relating to mandating the development and approval of operational safety
 plans, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7680-A and A. 6634-A,
 are amended to read as follows:
   1. The office shall develop and approve operational safety plans prior
 to  the  deployment  of  any  employee in hazardous conditions. The plan
 shall include, but not be limited to, a  comprehensive  risk  assessment
 identifying potential hazards associated with the deployment, mitigation
 measures  to  address  identified  risks,  detailed  information on team
 composition including roles and responsibilities, identification  of  an
 on-site authorized person responsible for overseeing operations, a clear
 chain  of  command  for decision-making during the deployment, emergency
 contact information for all team  members,  and  [evacuation  procedures
 tailored to the specific deployment scenario], TO THE EXTENT APPLICABLE,
 EVACUATION  PROCEDURES.   THE PLAN SHALL REQUIRE THAT ANY EMPLOYEE CHECK
 IN WITH THE INCIDENT COMMANDER OR SAFETY OFFICER FOR  INCIDENT  SPECIFIC
 PROCEDURES  PRIOR  TO  TAKING  ANY ACTION AT THE INCIDENT LOCATION.  The
 commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall review and approve all
 operational safety plans to ensure compliance  with  established  safety
 standards,  verify  that  the  employees  being  deployed are adequately
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10348-04-6
 S. 8767                             2
 
 trained for their roles, and confirm that  the  operation  is  essential
 under hazardous conditions.
   3. When deployment occurs in coordination with one or more other enti-
 ties,  AND  THE OFFICE IS NOT THE LEAD RESPONSE AGENCY, the office shall
 make reasonable efforts to ensure that employees are provided  with  the
 [information described in subdivision one of this section, to the extent
 practicable]  INCIDENT SPECIFIC OPERATIONAL SAFETY PLAN DEVELOPED BY THE
 LEAD AGENCY AND/OR INCIDENT COMMANDER.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
 manner  as  a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the parks, recreation
 and historic preservation law relating to mandating the development  and
 approval  of  operational safety plans, as proposed in legislative bills
 numbers S. 7680-A and A. 6634-A, takes effect.