Research

On March 30, 1836, "An Act to authorize the establishment of the New York State Lunatic Asylum," (Laws of 1836, Chapter 82) was passed. This act empowered the governor, with the consent of the senate, to appoint three commissioners to select a suitable site and authorized the treasurer, on the warrant of the comptroller, to pay a sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars for it. The law also provided that three commissioners be appointed to contract for the erection of the asylum.

During a 1965 site investigation of nursing staff shortages by the Joint Legislative Committee on Problems of Public Health, Medicare, and Medicaid, State Senator Seymour R. Thaler observed poor medical care, understaffing, and waste in New York City's municipal hospitals. His efforts to publicize his findings and to involve state government in seeking remedies prompted Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller to appoint an investigatory panel of distinguished health care experts.

The Board was created by Laws of 1956, Chapter 191 as a demonstration project with a four-year lifespan. Its function was to plan and develop new health and mental health programs in which two or more state agencies had direct concern. Its members were the Commissioners of Health, Social Welfare, Mental Hygiene, Education, Labor, and Corrections; the chairs of the Youth Commission, Board of Parole, and Workmen's Compensation Board; and the Executive Director of the Joint Hospital Survey and Planning Commission.

In order to maximize the ability of the labor force to meet production demands of World War II, in 1941 Governor Herbert H. Lehman empowered the Industrial Commissioner to grant dispensations to allow a relaxation of labor laws. Limitations on longer hours, night shifts, or seven day weeks were suspended for six-month periods by the Commissioner upon application from individual employers in manufacturing industries.

The Joint Legislative Committee on Industrial and Labor Conditions was created (Concurrent Resolution adopted March 18, 1938) to examine the role of industrial and labor relations in the growth of the state's economy and to recommend improved legislation and state programs. From its inception through the mid-1940's, the committee concentrated on several areas of concern. First, it examined federal and state laws relating to employer-employee relations (collective bargaining, mediation, and arbitration) and federal and state agencies that administered these laws.

The Division of Public Health Education was responsible for publications, exhibits, news releases, audio-visual productions and loans, and annual conferences for state and local health officers. Its earliest audio-visual materials were lantern slides and motion picture films. The Division began to produce radio talks in 1922, as soon as radio technology became available. Between 1933 and 1945, the Division produced a weekly fifteen-minute drama series featuring the Department's Deputy Commissioner in the role of a folksy local health officer.

The 1949 Legislature established (Chapter 355) a five member Classification and Compensation Board to hear appeals from the Classification and Compensation Division (C.C.D.) Director's determinations of position reclassification and salary reallocations requests. The Board replaced and absorbed some of the functions of the former Salary Standardization and Classification boards. The Board was established in the Department of Civil Service (D.C.S.) but was functionally independent of the Department and the Civil Service Commission.

New York State established a program to monitor occupational diseases in 1914 (Chap. 145) when it created a Division of Industrial Hygiene (DIH) in the State Department of Labor (DOL) to aid in the enforcement of labor laws. This Division was almost entirely staffed by technical experts in various fields, and DOL claimed it was the first unit of its kind in the country. Among the new Division's many functions was the investigation of reported cases of occupational disease and the study of types of industries and workers to determine the causes and prevention of occupational disease.

This commission was created by the Legislature under the Laws of 1946, Chapter 353. The governor and the legislature each appointed half of its 30 members. Its mission was to examine higher education throughout New York State and to make recommendations for future needs. The commission met eight times between August 23, 1946 and January 12, 1948.

Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller appointed this commission on February 15, 1963 following recurring charges of corruption in enforcement of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law lodged against several members of the State Liquor Authority. Critics charged, for instance, that although competition for the limited allowed number of liquor store locations was intense, there was no standard for selecting who was chosen to get a site, encouraging favoritism and bribery in the awarding of locations.