NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8507
SPONSOR: Brown K TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to designating April
eighth as "Co-Occurring Disorders Awareness Day"
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to designate April eighth as Co-Occurring
Disorders Awareness Day.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill amends subdivision 3 of section 168-a of the
executive law, as amended by chapter 542 of the laws of 2024 to read as
follows: April eighth, to be known as "Co-Occurring Disorders Awareness
Day".
Section two of this bill establishes the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
N/A
JUSTIFICATION:
Co-occurring Disorder, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), refers to the coexistence of
both a mental illness and a substance use disorder (SUD). A 2022
National survey on Drug Use and Health showed that approximately 21.5
million adults in the US have a co-occurring disorder.
The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimates that approximately 50% of
people with mental illnesses will develop a substance use disorder over
the course of their lifetimes, and 50% of those with substance use
disorders will develop a mental health condition. It is.also well-docu-
mented that juveniles with substance use disorders often have co-occur-
ring mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.
A report from Case Western University showed that historically, people
with co-occurring disorders have been excluded from mental health treat-
ment because of their substance use disorders. Likewise, they have been
excluded from substance abuse treatment because of their severe mental
health symptoms. As ,a result, they frequently have not gotten the help
they need.
This bill shall help raise awareness of Co-Occurring Disorders and
through that focus help those caught in the cycle of non or ineffectual
treatment. Early detection and integrated treatment can improve outcomes
and quality of life, decrease hospitalization, and increase chances for
successful treatment and recovery for both disorders.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8507
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 20, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to designating April
eighth as "Co-Occurring Disorders Awareness Day"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 168-a of the executive law, as
2 amended by chapter 542 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 3. The following days shall be days of commemoration in each year:
5 January sixth, to be known as "Haym Salomon Day", January twenty-sev-
6 enth, to be known as "Holocaust Remembrance Day", February fourth, to be
7 known as "Rosa Parks Day", February fifteenth, to be known as "Susan B.
8 Anthony Day", February sixteenth, to be known as "Lithuanian Independ-
9 ence Day", February twenty-eighth, to be known as "Gulf War Veterans'
10 Day", March fourth, to be known as "Pulaski Day", March eighth, to be
11 known as "International Women's Day", March tenth, to be known as
12 "Harriet Tubman Day", March twenty-ninth, to be known as "Vietnam Veter-
13 ans' Day", April eighth, to be know as "Co-Occurring Disorders Awareness
14 Day", April ninth, to be known as "POW Recognition Day", April twenty-
15 seventh, to be known as "Coretta Scott King Day", April twenty-eighth,
16 to be known as "Workers' Memorial Day", the first Tuesday in May to be
17 known as "New York State Teacher Day", May seventeenth, to be known as
18 "Thurgood Marshall Day", the first Sunday in June, to be known as "Chil-
19 dren's Day", June second, to be known as "Italian Independence Day",
20 June twelfth, to be known as "Women Veterans Recognition Day", June
21 nineteenth, to be known as "Juneteenth Freedom Day", June twenty-fifth,
22 to be known as "Korean War Veterans' Day", the second Monday in July, to
23 be known as "Abolition Commemoration Day", August twenty-fourth, to be
24 known as "Ukrainian Independence Day", August twenty-sixth, to be known
25 as "Women's Equality Day", September eleventh, to be known as "Battle of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05326-01-5
A. 8507 2
1 Plattsburgh Day" and also to be known as "September 11th Remembrance
2 Day", September thirteenth, to be known as "John Barry Day" and also to
3 be known as "Uncle Sam Day in the State of New York", September seven-
4 teenth, to be known as "Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Memorial Day", the
5 third Friday in September to be known as "New York State POW/MIA Recog-
6 nition Day" except if such date of commemoration cannot be observed due
7 to a religious holiday, such observances shall then be conducted on the
8 second Friday of September, the last Saturday in September, to be known
9 as "War of 1812 Day", the fourth Saturday of September, known as
10 "Native-American Day", the last Sunday in September, to be known as
11 "Gold Star Mothers' Day", October fifth, to be known as "Raoul Wallen-
12 berg Day", October eleventh, to be known as "New Netherland Day in the
13 State of New York", October eighteenth, to be known as "Disabilities
14 History Day", October twenty-seventh, to be known as "Theodore Roosevelt
15 Day", November ninth, to be known as "Witness for Tolerance Day", Novem-
16 ber twelfth, to be known as "Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day", the third
17 Tuesday in November to be known as "New York State School-Related
18 Professionals Recognition Day", November twenty-sixth, to be known as
19 "Sojourner Truth Day", November thirtieth, to be known as "Shirley
20 Chisholm Day", December third, to be known as "International Day of
21 Persons with Disabilities", December seventh, to be known as "Pearl
22 Harbor Day", December sixteenth, to be known as "Bastogne Day" and that
23 day of the Asian lunar calendar designated as new year to be known as
24 "Asian New Year".
25 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
