NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7011A
SPONSOR: Tapia TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to allowing individ-
uals to register in the "donate life registry" through mandatory elec-
tronic personal income tax filings
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to expand opportunities for New Yorkers to
register as organ donors by including the option to enroll in the
"Donate Life Registry" when electronically filing their state income tax
returns.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 4310 of the
public health law to add mandatory electronic personal income tax
filings as an approved method for individuals to register as organ, eye,
and tissue donors.
Section 2 amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 4310 to
require the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with relevant state
agencies, to ensure that space is provided on electronic tax filing
documents for individuals to opt into the Donate Life Registry.
Section 3 sets the effective date of this act.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York has one of the lowest organ donation registration rates in the
nation, despite having one of the highest needs for life-saving trans-
plants. Over 9,000 New Yorkers are currently waiting for an organ trans-
plant, and each year, hundreds die because a suitable donor was not
found in time.
While significant progress has been made to increase organ donor enroll-
ment-such as allowing registration through the Department of Motor Vehi-
cles, voter registration forms, healthcare exchanges, and student finan-
cial aid applications--more must be done to ensure New Yorkers have
convenient and frequent opportunities to enroll.
By incorporating the Donate Life Registry option into mandatory elec-
tronic tax filings, this bill introduces a simple and widely accessible
method for individuals to register as donors. The annual tax filing
process reaches millions of New Yorkers across diverse demographics,
making it an effective tool for increasing organ donation awareness and
participation.
This legislation builds upon previous efforts to expand organ donor
registration by ensuring that New Yorkers are presented with this life-
saving option when completing one of the most routine and universally
required state transactions-filing their taxes.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This bill follows prior legislation (A6392 of 2021-2022) that sought to
expand organ donor registration opportunities but passed without
provisions related to personal income tax filings.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day, after
becoming law.
