Bill Text: NY S09039 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Prohibits the use of the term "excited delirium" as a diagnosis, label, or cause of death on death certificates, autopsy reports, police reports or any report, policy or procedure by a public agency or contractor; defines excited delirium.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-04 - PRINT NUMBER 9039A [S09039 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09039-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9039--A

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 11, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  BROUK  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed  to  the  Committee  on  Health  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the public health law, the county law, the executive law
          and  the  state finance law, in relation to prohibiting the use of the
          term excited delirium as a diagnosis, label, or cause of death

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

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision 4 of section 4141 of the public health law is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
     3    (e) No death certificate shall cite excited delirium as  a  diagnosis,
     4  label,  cause  of  death,  or  contributing factor to any death. For the
     5  purposes of this paragraph, the term "excited  delirium"  shall  mean  a
     6  term used to describe a person's state of agitation, excitability, para-
     7  noia,  extreme  aggression,  physical violence, and apparent immunity to
     8  pain that is not listed in the most current version  of  the  Diagnostic
     9  and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or for which the court finds
    10  there  is  insufficient scientific evidence or diagnostic criteria to be
    11  recognized as  a  medical  condition.  Excited  delirium  also  includes
    12  excited  delirium  syndrome,  excited  delirium,  hyperactive  delirium,
    13  agitated delirium, and exhaustive mania.
    14    § 2. Section 677 of the county law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
    15  sion 2-a to read as follows:
    16    2-a. No report of any autopsy or other examination shall cite  excited
    17  delirium  as  a  cause  or means or manner of death. For the purposes of
    18  this subdivision, the term "excited delirium" shall mean a term used  to
    19  describe  a person's state of agitation, excitability, paranoia, extreme
    20  aggression, physical violence, and apparent immunity to pain that is not
    21  listed in the most current version of  the  Diagnostic  and  Statistical
    22  Manual of Mental Disorders, or for which the court finds there is insuf-
    23  ficient scientific evidence or diagnostic criteria to be recognized as a
    24  medical  condition.  Excited  delirium  also  includes  excited delirium
    25  syndrome, excited delirium, hyperactive delirium, agitated delirium, and
    26  exhaustive mania.
    27    § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a  new  section  837-y  to
    28  read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13987-05-4
        S. 9039--A                          2

     1    § 837-y. Prohibition of use of excited delirium. 1. No report by a law
     2  enforcement officer or peace officer shall reference excited delirium in
     3  such report.
     4    2.  No  law enforcement officer or peace officer shall take any action
     5  with respect to an individual in response to such individual being diag-
     6  nosed or labeled as having or being in a state of excited delirium.   No
     7  training  shall  be  provided  that requires, encourages, or permits any
     8  action in response to an individual being diagnosed or labeled as having
     9  or being in a state of excited delirium.
    10    3. For the purposes of this section, "excited delirium" shall  mean  a
    11  term used to describe a person's state of agitation, excitability, para-
    12  noia,  extreme  aggression,  physical violence, and apparent immunity to
    13  pain that is not listed in the most current version  of  the  Diagnostic
    14  and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or for which the court finds
    15  there  is  insufficient scientific evidence or diagnostic criteria to be
    16  recognized as  a  medical  condition.  Excited  delirium  also  includes
    17  excited  delirium  syndrome,  excited  delirium,  hyperactive  delirium,
    18  agitated delirium, and exhaustive mania.
    19    § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 139-m to
    20  read as  follows:
    21    § 139-m. Prohibition of use of excited delirium. 1. As  used  in  this
    22  section:
    23    (a)  "Contractor"  means  any  person, firm, partnership, corporation,
    24  association, company, organization  or  other  similar  entity,  or  any
    25  combination  thereof,  including any subcontractor thereof, that employs
    26  employees to perform work pursuant to an agreement with a public agency.
    27    (b) "Public agency" means  the  state,  and  any  department,  agency,
    28  board,  bureau,  commission, division, council or office of the state or
    29  any political subdivision thereof, as defined in section one hundred  of
    30  the general municipal law, a municipal corporation as defined in section
    31  sixty-six  of  the  general construction law and any district thereof, a
    32  public benefit corporation, or local or state authority  as  defined  in
    33  section  two of the public authorities law, and any other entity author-
    34  ized and empowered to enter into any contract or arrangement to  conduct
    35  economic development activity on behalf of any such public agency.
    36    (c)  "Excited delirium" means a term used to describe a person's state
    37  of  agitation,  excitability,  paranoia,  extreme  aggression,  physical
    38  violence,  and  apparent immunity to pain that is not listed in the most
    39  current version of the  Diagnostic  and  Statistical  Manual  of  Mental
    40  Disorders, or for which the court finds there is insufficient scientific
    41  evidence or diagnostic criteria to be recognized as a medical condition.
    42  Excited  delirium also includes excited delirium syndrome, excited deli-
    43  rium, hyperactive delirium, agitated delirium, and exhaustive mania.
    44    2. No employee of a public agency  or  contractor  or  employee  of  a
    45  contractor  shall  issue a diagnosis of excited delirium, report excited
    46  delirium as a cause of death or a contributing factor  to  a  death,  or
    47  conduct  any  trainings  or share materials attesting to the validity of
    48  excited delirium as a cause of death.
    49    3. No public agency or contractor shall adopt or maintain  any  policy
    50  or procedure, including but not limited to police manuals and trainings,
    51  that  acknowledges  the  validity  of  the diagnosis, cause of death, or
    52  label of excited delirium.
    53    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.