Add §171-bb, amd §697, Tax L; amd §4310, Pub Health L
Directs the department of taxation and finance to include an opportunity on certain personal income tax forms for individuals to provide written consent to be added to the donate life registry; makes related provisions.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10299B
SPONSOR: Tapia TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law and the public health law, in relation to
allowing individuals to register in the "donate life registry" through
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 authorizing the Department of Taxation and
Finance to incorporate an opportunity to enroll in the "Donate Life
Registry" through approved electronic personal income tax filing plat-
forms.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new section 171-bb to the tax law to authorize the
Department of Taxation and Finance to include an opportunity on resident
income tax returns prepared and filed through approved commercial tax
preparation software for individuals to consent to enrollment in the
Donate Life Registry, The section further authorizes the Department to
share information necessary to effectuate such enrollment with the
Donate Life Registry,
Sections 2 and 3 amend paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 4310 of
the public health law to add personal income tax filings as an approved
method through which an individual may register as an organ, eye, and
tissue donor.
Sections 4 and 5 amend paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section-4310 of
the public health law to ensure that the Commissioner of Health, in
consultation with relevant agencies, provides appropriate space and
language for organ donor registration opportunities associated with
qualifying transactions.
Sections 6 and 7 amend section 697 of the tax law to create a limited
exception to the Department of Taxation and Finance's tax secrecy
provisions for the purpose of allowing information necessary to enroll
consenting individuals in the Donate Life Registry to be disclosed to
the registry.
Section 8 sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York has taken significant steps to expand opportunities for indi-
viduals to register in the Donate Life Registry by creating multiple
secure and familiar "doorways to donation" across interactions New York-
ers regularly have with state-administered systems, including driver's
license transactions, voter registration, health exchange enrollment,
higher education financial aid transactions, and other public-facing
platforms. This legislation builds upon that framework by authorizing
donor registration opportunities through approved electronic personal
income tax filing systems.
Importantly, this legislation reflects substantial revisions made in
response to operational concerns previously raised by the Department of
Taxation and Finance regarding earlier versions of this proposal. Prior
versions raised concerns relating to implementation burdens on tax
preparers, ambiguity regarding the Department's authority to administer
the program through approved tiling software, and the absence of an
explicit exception to the Department's tax secrecy provisions permitting
disclosure of enrollment information to the Donate Life Registry.
The current bill addresses those concerns by substantially narrowing and
restructuring the proposal. Rather than imposing obligations on individ-
ual preparers, the legislation now focuses on consumer-facing electronic
filing platforms approved by the Department and expressly authorizes the
Department to administer the registration opportunity and promulgate any
necessary rules and regulations governing implementation and consent
procedures. The bill also establishes a limited statutory exception to
existing tax secrecy provisions solely for purposes of facilitating
enrollment of consenting individuals into the Donate Life Registry,
Additionally, the legislation provides the Department with greater
administrative flexibility by removing prescriptive requirements regard-
ing specific data fields and disclosure timelines, instead referring
generally to information necessary to carry out the program.
Several large and administratively complex states have already success-
fully implemented similar systems in recent years. Michigan became the
first state to permit organ donor registration through state income tax
filings in 2023. Wisconsin implemented a similar model in 2025, and
California adopted legislation in 2023 establishing donor registration
opportunities through state tax filings beginning with the 2025 filing
year. These states have demonstrated that donor registration opportu-
nities can be integrated into existing electronic tax administration
systems while maintaining appropriate protections for taxpayer informa-
tion.
By creating another broadly utilized and familiar opportunity for New
Yorkers to register as organ donors, this bill would help strengthen the
Donate Life Registry, increase public awareness regarding organ
donation, and potentially save lives through expanded donor partic-
ipation.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A10299-A of 2026 / S8841 of 2026.
This legislation follows prior proposals intended to expand opportu-
nities for organ donor registration, including A6392 of 2021-2022,
A prior version of this legislation was vetoed in 2025 due to opera-
tional concerns raised by the Department of Taxation and Finance,
CHANGES FROM PRIOR VERSIONS OF THE BILL:
This bill has been substantially revised from prior versions in order to
address operational concerns raised by the Department of Taxation and
Finance.
The revised bill:
Narrows the scope of the proposal to focus on electronic filings
completed through commercial tax preparation software approved by the
Department;
Shifts implementation responsibility away from individual tax preparers
and toward the Department of Taxation and Finance itself;
Expressly authorizes the Department to incorporate donor registration
opportunities into approved filing systems and promulgate implementing
regulations;
Creates a limited exception to the Department's tax secrecy provisions
permitting disclosure of information necessary to enroll consenting
individuals in the Donate Life Registry;
Removes prescriptive statutory requirements relating to specific data
fields and mandatory disclosure timeframes in order to provide greater
administrative flexibility.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the 180th day after it becomes law;
provided, however, that certain sections shall take effect on the same
date and in the same manner as corresponding provisions of chapters 128
of the laws of 2025 and 662 of the laws of 2024, if such provisions have
not yet taken effect by that date. Rulemaking necessary for implementa-
tion is authorized prior to the effective date.
