Senate and Assembly Pass Bill to Require Trustee Training

The State Senate and Assembly have passed legislation (A.11499, Rivera/S.8047-A Morahan) that would direct the Office of Mental Health and the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities to establish minimum training requirements for all members of boards of directors at facilities these agencies license, including hospital members with dual licenses. The legislation will be forwarded to Governor Paterson to sign into law.

The legislation will also require the establishment of policies and guidelines regarding executive compensation, board member potential conflict of interest, and operating procedures in the event of emergency situations.

The Healthcare Trustees of New York State (HTNYS) Board of Governors has advocated that any training take into account that many seasoned trustees have already met the proposed training requirements from their years of experience as trustees - Sue Ellen Wagner