N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 41.03: Definitions

§ 41.03 Definitions.

When used in this article:

1. "local government" means a county, except a county within the city

of New York, and the city of New York.

2. "charter government" means a local government which has its charter

under article IX of the constitution and the municipal home rule law;

and includes the city of New York.

3. "local services" includes services for individuals with mental

illness or developmental disabilities whose conditions, including but

not limited to cerebral palsy and epilepsy, are associated with mental

disabilities, and those suffering from alcoholism, alcohol abuse,

substance abuse or substance dependence, which are provided by a local

government or by a voluntary agency pursuant to a contract with a local

governmental unit or the office of mental health.

4. "local facility" means a facility offering local services and

includes a community mental health and developmental disabilities

facility as defined in section three of the facilities development

corporation act and, for the purposes of this article, a mental hygiene

facility, as defined in said section, to be made available for use in

providing local services under lease, sublease, license or permit from

the facilities development corporation to one or more local governmental

units or to a voluntary agency at the request of a commissioner of an

office in the department.

5. "local governmental unit" means the unit of local government given

authority in accordance with this chapter by local government to provide

local services.

6. "board" means a community services board for services to

individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities, those

suffering from alcoholism, alcohol abuse, substance abuse or substance

dependence.

7. "director" means the director of community services, who is the

chief executive officer of a local governmental unit, by whatever title

known.

8. "capital costs" means the costs of a local government, a voluntary

agency, or the facilities development corporation with respect to the

acquisition of real property estates, interests, and cooperative

interests in realty, their design, construction, reconstruction,

rehabilitation and improvement, original furnishings and equipment, site

development, and appurtenances of a local facility. Capital costs do not

include any of the foregoing costs paid under provisions of law other

than this chapter.

9. (a) "operating costs" means expenditures, excluding capital costs,

incurred in the operation and maintenance of the community mental

health, developmental disabilities, and alcoholism services board and of

local facilities in accordance with this article and the regulations of

the commissioner, by a local government or by a voluntary agency

pursuant to a contract with a local governmental unit.

(b) Subject to the regulations of the commissioner, operating costs

shall include that part of rental costs paid to those community mental

health, developmental disabilities, alcoholism, or substance abuse

services companies, which represents interest accrued after January

first, nineteen hundred eighty-one and is paid on obligations incurred

by such companies, organized pursuant to article seventy-five of this

chapter and which participated in mortgage financing in accordance with

chapter one thousand thirty-four of the laws of nineteen hundred

sixty-nine, (ii) rentals paid to the facilities development corporation,

(iii) salaries of or per diem compensation to board members, (iv) costs

for which state aid or reimbursement is claimed under provisions of law

other than this article.

(c) Operating costs may include interest incurred on any obligation

which is necessarily related to the efficient and economic delivery of

approved services to persons with alcoholism, substance abuse addiction,

mental illness or developmental disabilities, subject to the

commissioner's certification of the reasonableness of the interest

expense. Interest as authorized by this subdivision shall only include

reasonable and competitive rates of interest incurred in accordance with

regulations promulgated by the commissioner.

(d) Subject to the regulations of the commissioner, operating costs

shall include rent incurred, or depreciation and interest expenditures

incurred, in connection with the design, construction, acquisition,

reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of a local facility;

provided that where the rent, financing or refinancing of the design,

construction, acquisition, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement

of a local facility is through the facilities development corporation,

operating costs shall include the debt service to be paid to amortize

obligations, including principal and interest, issued by the New York

state medical care facilities finance agency to finance or refinance the

capital costs of such facilities.

10. "net operating costs" means operating costs from which have been

deducted the following:

(a) revenues for operating costs received from other state agencies or

another local government pursuant to an agreement to purchase local

services.

(b) other income realized in the operation of a specified program,

except for income realized by a voluntary not-for-profit agency from

industrial contracts entered into pursuant to its operation of a

sheltered workshop from which have been deducted the expenses of such

workshop incurred in producing such income and which are claimed for

state aid.

(c) federal aid received for operating costs.

(d) fees received from patients or on their behalf from private and

public health insurance and medical aid programs.

11. "voluntary agency" means a corporation organized or existing

pursuant to the not-for-profit corporation law for the purpose of

providing local services.

12. "local services plan" means the plan of local services which is

submitted by a local governmental unit and approved by the commissioner

pursuant to section 41.18 of this article.

13. "community support services" means clinical, social,

rehabilitative and other mental health services, programs and related

administrative activities designed to enhance the community living

skills and prevent the unnecessary hospitalization of the seriously

impaired, chronically mentally ill population, who are eligible to

receive services pursuant to section 41.47 of this article.