Allows camp employees who are 18 years of age or older to administer medications and treatment to children, under parent or guardian consent and authorization, pursuant to a patient specific order and in compliance with regulations.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A509B
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to authorizing certain camp employees to administer medications and
treatment to children under certain circumstances
PURPOSE:
This bill would authorize camp employees to administer specific over-
the-counter medications and prescription medications to children when
acting under the direction and authority of the parent, legal guardian,
legal custodian or entrusted adult.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: This section amends the Public Health Law to permit employees
of children's overnight camps, summer day camps, or traveling summer day
camps, who are 18 years of age or older, to administer over-the-counter
medications for pain relief, anaphylaxis, and motion sickness or
prescription medications of emergency conditions via an order issued by
the camp health director, a physician, nurse practitioner, physician
assistant employed by the camp to provide health services or the child's
personal health practitioner . Medications to be administered under this
section must be approved by the Commissioner of Health.
Section 2: This section amends the Education Law to allow employees of
children's overnight camps, summer day camps, and traveling summer day
camps specifically authorized by the camp's medical director and who are
acting under the direction and authority of a parent of a child, legal
guardian, legal custodian or entrusted adult authorized to consent to
such treatment to administer medications or treatment to a child.
Section 3: This section sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Current law prohibits camp staff who are not licensed to practice nurs-
ing in New York State from administering medications including "as need-
ed' medications such as acetaminophen for pain and topicals for bug
bites or poison ivy. Children away from parent/guardians for extended
periods of time frequently require such medications. This legislation
creates an alternative way for children's camps regulated by the Depart-
ment of Health to administer medications when the damp does not employ a
Nurse or Physician licensed to practice in New York State. This legis-
lation is similar to Chapter 160 of the Laws of 2003 which authorizes
the operators or employees of a licensed day care to administer medica-
tions when authorized by parent or legal guardian of a child, provided
the day care complies with regulations promulgated by the Office of
Children and Family Services.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A7618 of 2023 and 2024, referred to health/ Same as S8641 of 2023 and
2024, referred to health
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to local governments
EFFECTIVE DATE:
180 days after signed into law
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
509--B
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, R. CARROLL, HEVESI, STECK, McDONALD, KAY,
WIEDER, YEGER, EICHENSTEIN, BERGER, LEVENBERG, OTIS, ROZIC, ROSENTHAL,
LAVINE, LUNSFORD, STERN, JENSEN, DINOWITZ, BURROUGHS, SCHIAVONI --
read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- recommitted to
the Committee on Health in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee
with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to authorizing certain camp employees to administer medications and
treatment to children under certain circumstances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 1394 of the public health law is amended by adding
2 a new subdivision 10 to read as follows:
3 10. Each children's overnight, summer day, or traveling summer day
4 camp, may permit employees of such camp who are eighteen years of age or
5 older to administer, with specific authorization and consent from a
6 child's parent or guardian, over-the-counter medications pursuant to a
7 patient-specific order issued by the camp health director or a physi-
8 cian, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant employed or contracted
9 with the camp to provide health services or the child's healthcare
10 professional, within their lawful scope of practice, including but not
11 limited to for the purposes of pain relief or the treatment of anaphy-
12 laxis and motion sickness or prescription medications for the treatment
13 of emergency conditions including but not limited to asthma, anaphylax-
14 is, and oral or nasal spray seizure medications. Such medications shall
15 be approved by the commissioner and administered pursuant to section
16 sixty-nine hundred eight of the education law and in accordance with the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00934-07-6
A. 509--B 2
1 rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner, in consultation
2 with the commissioner of education.
3 § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 6908 of the education law
4 is amended by adding a new subparagraph (vi) to read as follows:
5 (vi) the administration of medications or treatment by employees of a
6 children's overnight camp, summer day camp and traveling summer day camp
7 where such employees are eighteen years of age or older and have been
8 given specific authorization by the camp's health director, including
9 via audio or video communications, to administer such medications or
10 treatments to a specific child, are acting under the direction and
11 authority of a parent of a child, legal guardian, legal custodian, or an
12 adult in whose care a child has been entrusted and who have been author-
13 ized by the parent or guardian to consent to health care for the child
14 and in compliance with regulations promulgated by the department of
15 health pertaining to the administration of medications and treatment;
16 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
17 it shall have become a law.
