Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation (S.02036/A.03237) into law to establish another method of tracking veteran suicides in order to compile more accurate data regarding those suicides to better inform prevention strategies. The new law adds a new subdivision to direct a coroner, coroner’s physician or medical examiner to file a report to the Division of Veterans Services after any death which appears to be a suicide by a person who is believed to be a veteran. This report is to be made in consultation with DOH and includes the number of veterans who died by suicide, trends of veteran suicides within the last 5 years, and a comparison of veteran suicide rates by county, statewide, and nationally. The first report will be due in June of 2024 and subsequent reports will be due every 3 years thereafter.
