Bill Text: NY A00031 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to creating the health emergency response data system, which collects information and statistical data relating to public health emergencies in order to assist the department of health, other government entities, health care providers, and the public in understanding and responding to public health emergencies.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 41-2)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to health [A00031 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00031-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           31

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. PAULIN, SEAWRIGHT, LUPARDO, DINOWITZ, JACKSON,
          MEEKS, HEVESI, BRONSON,  MAGNARELLI,  BRABENEC,  McDONOUGH,  LUNSFORD,
          KELLES,  STECK,  ANDERSON,  SIMON,  GLICK, VANEL, ROSENTHAL, WILLIAMS,
          BICHOTTE HERMELYN,  WALKER,  OTIS,  SAYEGH,  STIRPE,  WOERNER,  STERN,
          JACOBSON,  COOK,  R. CARROLL,  GALLAGHER, COLTON, FALL, FORREST, CRUZ,
          CLARK,   SANTABARBARA,   HUNTER,   JONES,    ZINERMAN,    BUTTENSCHON,
          DE LOS SANTOS,  REYES  --  read  once and referred to the Committee on
          Health

        AN ACT to amend the public health  law,  in  relation  to  creating  the
          health emergency response data system

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  section
     2  206-c to read as follows:
     3    § 206-c. Health emergency response data system. 1. a. The health emer-
     4  gency  response  data system, referred to in this section as "HERDS", is
     5  hereby created in the department. The HERDS  shall  collect  information
     6  and  statistical  data,  referred  to in this section as "HERDS informa-
     7  tion", relating to public health emergencies and  health  care  services
     8  related to public health emergencies, in order to assist the department,
     9  other  government  entities,  health  care  providers, and the public in
    10  understanding and responding to public health emergencies.
    11    b. Individually identifiable HERDS information shall be kept confiden-
    12  tial. HERDS information disclosed under this section shall be aggregated
    13  so it cannot be individually identifiable, but it shall  contain  suffi-
    14  cient  detail,  so it refers to specific geographic areas and hospitals,
    15  as defined in article twenty-eight of this chapter.
    16    c. The commissioner shall make regulations implementing this section.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00311-01-5
        A. 31                               2

     1    2. a. The  HERDS  shall  collect  HERDS  information,  including  from
     2  surveys  submitted  by  hospitals,  nursing homes, and other health care
     3  providers, as determined by the commissioner.
     4    b.  The  HERDS  shall  be  operated  by  the department, including the
     5  collecting and making available information, in conjunction with and  to
     6  improve the department's fulfillment of its responsibilities under arti-
     7  cles twenty-one and forty-one of this chapter.
     8    §  2.  Paragraph  b  of  subdivision  2 of section 206-c of the public
     9  health law, as added by section one of this act, is amended to  read  as
    10  follows:
    11    b.    HERDS shall make HERDS information available to government enti-
    12  ties, health care providers, and the public, including  posting  on  the
    13  department's  website,  as soon and as close to real time as practicable
    14  after it is collected but no later than seven days after it is  received
    15  by the department.
    16    c.  The  HERDS  shall  be  operated  by  the department, including the
    17  collecting and making available information, in conjunction with and  to
    18  improve the department's fulfillment of its responsibilities under arti-
    19  cles twenty-one and forty-one of this chapter.
    20    §  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately; provided, however,
    21  section two of this act shall take effect on the sixtieth day  after  it
    22  shall  have  become  a  law.  Effective immediately, the commissioner of
    23  health shall make regulations and take other actions  reasonably  neces-
    24  sary to implement each section of this act on its effective date.