N.Y. MHY Law § 82.05

* § 82.05 Duties, responsibilities, and authority of supporters.\n (a) A supporter must:\n 1. respect the decision-maker's right to make a decision, even when\nthe supporter disagrees with the decision or believes it is not in the\ndecision-maker's best interests;\n 2. act honestly, diligently, and in good faith;\n 3. act within the scope set forth in the executed supported\ndecision-making agreement;\n 4. avoid conflicts of interest;\n 5. notify the decision-maker in writing, and in a manner the\ndecision-maker can understand, of the supporter's intent to resign as a\nsupporter; and\n 6. participate in facilitation and/or education programs developed\nunder regulations promulgated by the office for people with\ndevelopmental disabilities in order to enter a formal supported\ndecision-making agreement.\n (b) A supporter is prohibited from:\n 1. making decisions for the decision-maker, except to the extent\notherwise granted in an advance directive;\n 2. exerting undue influence upon the decision-maker;\n 3. physically coercing the decision-maker;\n 4. obtaining, without the consent of the decision-maker, information\nacquired for a purpose other than assisting the decision-maker in making\na decision authorized by the supported decision-making agreement;\n 5. obtaining, without the consent of the decision-maker, or as\nexpressly granted by the supported decision-making agreement, and\naccompanied by an appropriate release, nonpublic personal information as\ndefined in 15 U.S.C. § 6809(4)(A), or clinical records or information\nunder subdivision (c) of section 33.13 of this chapter; and\n 6. communicating a decision-maker's decision to a third-party without\nthe participation and presence of the decision-maker.\n (c) The relationship between a decision-maker and a supporter is one\nof trust and confidence and serves to preserve the decision-making\nauthority of the decision-maker.\n (d) A supporter shall not be considered a surrogate or substitute\ndecision maker for the decision-maker and shall not have the authority\nto sign legal documents on behalf of the decision-maker or bind the\ndecision-maker to a legal agreement, but may, if such authority is\nexpressly granted in the supported decision-making agreement, provide\nco-signature together with the decision-maker acknowledging the receipt\nof statements of rights and responsibilities in order to permit\nparticipation in such programs or activities that the decision-maker has\ncommunicated a choice to participate in.\n (e) If expressly granted by the supported decision-making agreement,\nand the decision-maker has signed an appropriate release, the supporter\nmay assist the decision-maker in obtaining educational records under the\nFamily Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. § 1232g),\nprotected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and\nAccountability Act of 1996 (45 CFR §§ 164.502, 164.508), clinical\nrecords and information under subdivision (c) of section 33.13 of this\nchapter, or patient information under subdivisions two and three of\nsection eighteen of the public health law.\n (f) A supporter shall ensure the information obtained under\nsubdivision (e) of this section is kept privileged and confidential, as\napplicable, and is not subject to unauthorized access, use, or\ndisclosure.\n * NB Effective 90 days from the date that the regulations issued in\naccordance with § 1 of chapter 481 of 2022 appear in the New York State\nRegister or the date such regulations are adopted, whichever is later.\n