NY A00520

Requires each county with a local disaster preparedness plan to maintain a registry of people of all ages with disabilities who need assistance during evacuations and sheltering, changing the requirement from voluntary to mandatory.

Allows people of all ages with disabilities to opt out of being included in the registry and gives them the option to pre-authorize emergency response personnel to enter their homes during search and rescue operations.

Directs county departments of health, social services, mental health, and other designated agencies to provide registration information to all clients of all ages with disabilities as part of their intake process, with the registry updated annually.

Requires the chief executive to make the registry available to appropriate county, state, and federal agencies for disaster response and to provide registry information to the state emergency management office.

Mandates counties publish notice of the registration program in newspapers of general circulation at least semi-annually and designates all registry records as confidential except for disaster preparedness coordination between county officials and individual access to their own file.