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A02762 Summary:

BILL NOA02762
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORTague
 
COSPNSRDeStefano, Miller, Durso
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add Art 21 Title 9 §§2185 - 2187, Pub Health L
 
Authorizes and directs the commissioner of health to designate HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 communicable diseases; requires reporting of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 cases to the department of health; creates educational materials about the virus.
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A02762 Actions:

BILL NOA02762
 
01/27/2023referred to health
01/03/2024referred to health
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A02762 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A2762
 
SPONSOR: Tague
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to authorize and direct the commissioner of health to designate HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 communicable diseases; and to amend the public health law, in relation to the HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 viruses   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This legislation authorizes and directs the Commissioner of Health to include HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 in the list of communicable diseases in the New York Sanitary Code and to develop, produce, and make available, educational materials on the disease.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one of this legislation authorizes and directs the Commissioner of Health to include HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 in the list of communicable diseases in the New York State Sanitary Code. Section two amends Article 21 of the Public Health Law by adding a new Title 9 which describes reporting requirements for certain medical professionals who determine that a person is infected with HTLV-1 or HTLV-2. Title 9 also directs the Commissioner of Health to develop, produce, and make available to physicians, other health care providers, and persons at high-risk for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, educational materials in written and electronic forms, on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the disease. Section three provides for an effective date of 120 days after it shall have become law, provided that, effective immediately, the change of any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act are authorized to ensure timely completion on or before such effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 (Human T-Lymphotrophic Viruses) were the first retro- viruses discovered, originally detected in the early 1980s but still remain relatively unheard of today. Similar to HIV, HTLV can be trans- mitted by sexual contact, by blood transfusion, by sharing contaminated needles, and from mother to child, primarily through breastfeeding. Symptoms develop subtly and can be mistaken for other conditions but over the years the disease evolves chronically and can eventually lead to immobility and loss of urinary and sensory functions. Considered an endemic in the Caribbean, southern Japan, Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Melanesia, the exact prevalence of HTLV in the United States is still unknown. In the late 1980s, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued a recommendation that all blood donation centers in the Country screen for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, with all donors who were found to be infected, permanently deferred from donating. By 1993, the Centers for Disease Control issued official "Recommendations for Counseling Persons Infected with Human TLympho- trophic Virus Types I and II" to provide current information to diseased persons as well as guidelines for how to prevent transmission. Since then, unfortunately little public health literature on HTLV has been developed, produced, or disseminated, leaving the public uneducated and unaware. Furthermore, only a few states in the Nation require the reporting of positive cases of HTLV, preventing us from truly under- standing the scope of this disease in the United States. This legislation will ensure that populations at high-risk of contract- ing HTLV will receive reliable information that discloses and explains the disease and will also require medical professionals to report all positives cases to the State so we can better understand the public health impact in New York. By passing this bill, New York State will take the first step in accurately determining prevalence, incidence, and morbidity numbers of its citizens infected with HTLV and will be a model for other steps to emulate.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2022: A.4215 held for consideration in Health 2021: A.4215 referred to Health 2020: A.5675 referred to Health 2019: A.5675 referred to Health 2017: A.7533 referred to Health   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: This bill does not require an appropriation and will have minimal finan- cial implications, with the Commissioner of Health responsible for promulgating all rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the legislation.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the one hundred twenti- eth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment, and/or repeal of any rules and regulations neces- sary to implement the provisions of this act on its effective date are authorized to be completed on or before such effective date.
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A02762 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          2762
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 27, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. TAGUE, DeSTEFANO, MILLER, DURSO -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Health
 
        AN ACT to authorize and direct the commissioner of health  to  designate
          HTLV-1  and  HTLV-2  communicable  diseases;  and  to amend the public
          health law, in relation to the HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 viruses

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  The  commissioner  of  health  is  hereby  authorized and
     2  directed to include HTLV-1  and  HTLV-2  in  the  list  of  communicable
     3  diseases in the New York state sanitary code.
     4    §  2.  Article  21 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
     5  title 9 to read as follows:
     6                                  TITLE IX
     7                              HTLV-1 AND HTLV-2
     8  Section 2185. HTLV-1 and HTLV-2; duty to report.
     9          2186. HTLV-1 and HTLV-2; educational materials.
    10          2187. Rules and regulations.
    11    § 2185. HTLV-1 and HTLV-2; duty to report. 1. Every physician or other
    12  person authorized by law to order diagnostic tests  or  make  a  medical
    13  diagnosis,  or  any  laboratory  performing such tests shall immediately
    14  upon (a) determination that a person is infected with HTLV-1 or  HTLV-2,
    15  and (b) periodic monitoring of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections by any labo-
    16  ratory  tests  report such case or data to the commissioner within twen-
    17  ty-four hours from the time the  case  is  first  seen.  If  a  coroner,
    18  pathologist,  medical  examiner, or other person qualified to conduct an
    19  examination of a deceased person discovers that at the time of death the
    20  individual was afflicted with HTLV-1 or HTLV-2, he or she  shall  report
    21  the  case within twenty-four hours to the commissioner as if the diagno-
    22  sis had been established prior to death.
    23    2. Reports required under this section shall contain such  information
    24  concerning  the  case  as  shall  be required by the commissioner. These
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05768-01-3

        A. 2762                             2
 
     1  reports shall contain, but need not be limited to, all medical  informa-
     2  tion  required  to  establish accurate numbers for statewide prevalence,
     3  rates of annual incidence, and morbidity and mortality rates.
     4    3.  All  reports  or  information  secured by the department under the
     5  provisions of this title shall be confidential except: (a) in so far  as
     6  is necessary to carry out the provisions of this title; (b) when used in
     7  the  aggregate,  without  patient  specific  identifying information, in
     8  programs approved by the commissioner for the improvement of the quality
     9  of medical care provided to persons with HTLV-1 or HTLV-2; (c) when used
    10  within the state or local health department  by  public  health  disease
    11  programs  to  assess  co-morbidity  or  completeness of reporting and to
    12  direct program needs, in which case patient specific identifying  infor-
    13  mation  shall not be disclosed outside the state or local health depart-
    14  ment; or (d) when used for purposes of patient linkage and retention  in
    15  care,  patient  specific  identified  information  may be shared between
    16  local and state health departments and health care  providers  currently
    17  treating the patient as approved by the commissioner.
    18    §  2186. HTLV-1 and HTLV-2; educational materials. 1. The commissioner
    19  shall develop, produce and make available to  physicians,  other  health
    20  care  providers,  and  other  persons at high risk for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2
    21  educational materials, in written and electronic forms, on  the  diagno-
    22  sis,  treatment  and  prevention  of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2.   Such materials
    23  shall be written in terms which are understandable  by  members  of  the
    24  general  public. Such materials shall include information and assistance
    25  on where to find community support services,  support  groups,  respite,
    26  and  care  management.  In  instances in which viral typing is possible,
    27  these  materials  shall  direct  to  virus  specific  community  support
    28  services,  support  groups,  respite,  and care management as HTLV-1 and
    29  HTLV-2 are two different retroviruses with differing epidemiologies  and
    30  disease  associations  requiring  specific  recommendations  for persons
    31  infected with HTLV-1 or HTLV-2.
    32    2. These materials shall be made  available  to  the  public  free  of
    33  charge. The commissioner shall make these materials available to clinics
    34  that  specialize  in  sexually transmitted diseases, health care facili-
    35  ties, and department of corrections and  community  supervision  facili-
    36  ties.
    37    3.  The  commissioner  shall ensure that all information and materials
    38  produced under this section are maintained and updated to  reflect  best
    39  practice recommendations and are culturally and linguistically appropri-
    40  ate for the communities the materials are made available to. The depart-
    41  ment shall post the same information on its website.
    42    §  2187. Rules and regulations. The commissioner shall promulgate such
    43  rules and regulations as shall be necessary and proper to effectuate the
    44  purposes of this title.
    45    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    46  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
    47  ment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary to implement the
    48  provisions  of  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made
    49  or completed on or before such effective date.
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