N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 82.01: Legislative findings and purpose

* § 82.01 Legislative findings and purpose.

(a) The legislature finds that a person's right to make their own

decisions is critical to their autonomy and self-determination. People

with intellectual, developmental, cognitive and psychosocial

disabilities are often denied that right because of stigma and outdated

beliefs about their capability. This right is denied, despite the

reality that very few people make decisions entirely on their own.

Everyone uses supports, as do people with disabilities; who may just

need more or different kinds of supports.

(b) The legislature further finds that the, now well recognized,

practice of supported decision-making is a way in which many people with

disabilities can make their own decisions with the support they need

from trusted persons in their lives, and that supported decision-making

can be a less restrictive alternative to guardianship. Recognizing that

supported decision-making can take a variety of forms, the legislature

finds that a more formal process, resulting in a supported

decision-making agreement between the person with a disability (the

decision-maker) and their supporter or supporters, can provide the basis

for requiring third parties, who might otherwise question a person's

legal capacity because of their disability, to recognize their decisions

on the same basis as others. When this more formal process is followed,

people with disabilities can make choices confident that they will be

respected by others and knowing they will be solely responsible for

their own decisions.

(c) The legislature further finds that supported decision-making and

supported decision-making agreements should be encouraged when

appropriate for persons with disabilities, and that the execution of a

supported decision-making agreement should not detrimentally impact the

eligibility of a person for other services, including adult protective

services.

(d) The legislature also strongly urges relevant state agencies and

civil society to research and develop appropriate and effective means of

support for older persons with cognitive decline, persons with traumatic

brain injuries, and persons with psychosocial disabilities, so that full

legislative recognition can also be accorded to the decisions made with

supported decision-making agreements by persons with such conditions,

based on a consensus about what kinds of support are most effective and

how they can best be delivered.

* 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.