(a) Section 7.07 of the Mental Hygiene Law gives the Office of Mental Health responsibility for seeing that the personal and civil rights of persons with mental illness receiving care and treatment are adequately protected.

(b) Section 7.09 of the Mental Hygiene Law authorizes the commissioner to adopt regulations necessary and proper to implement any matter under his jurisdiction. Such section also requires the commissioner to promulgate regulations to address the communications needs of non-English-speaking individuals seeking or receiving services in facilities operated or licensed by the Office of Mental Health.

(c) Sections 10.06 and 10.10 of the Mental Hygiene Law give the Office of Mental Health responsibility for providing care, treatment, and control to sex offenders confined or committed to a secure treatment facility, as defined in section 10.03 of such law.

(d) Article 31 of the Mental Hygiene Law authorizes the commissioner to visit and inspect all services for persons with mental illness in the State, and requires providers of certain mental health services to have an operating certificate issued by the Office of Mental Health. Section 31.04 of such law further empowers the commissioner to issue regulations setting standards for licensed programs for the rendition of services for persons with mental illness.

(e) Section 33.02 of the Mental Hygiene Law establishes statutory rights of persons with mental disabilities and requires the commissioner to publish regulations informing residents of facilities or programs operated or licensed by the Office of Mental Health of their rights under law.

(f) Section 33.05 of the Mental Hygiene Law provides that each patient or resident in a facility shall have the right to communicate freely and privately with persons outside the facility as frequently as he or she wishes, subject to regulations of the commissioner designed to assure the safety and welfare of patients and to avoid serious harassment to others.

(g) Section 401 of the Correction Law provides that the Office of Mental Health and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision shall be jointly responsible for the administration and operation of programs for the care and treatment of inmates with mental illness who are in need of psychiatric services but who do not require hospitalization for the treatment of mental illness.

(h) Article 29-C of the Public Health Law establishes the right of competent adults to appoint an agent to make health care decisions in the event they lose decisionmaking capacity. Article 29-C further empowers the Office of Mental Health to establish regulations regarding the creation and use of health care proxies in mental health facilities.

(i) The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-508, sections 4206 and 4751) requires that institutional providers participating in the Medicare or Medical Assistance programs inform patients about their rights, under State law, to express their preferences regarding health care decisions.