Amd §399-ddd, Gen Bus L; add §3114, amd §§3217-a & 4324, Ins L; amd §4408, Pub Health L
Authorizes insurers to collect social security account numbers solely for the purpose of effectuating, verifying, or amending an individual's donor registration status in the New York state donate life registry; prohibits use of such information other than for such purposes.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10757
SPONSOR: Tapia TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, the insurance law and the
public health law, in relation to collection of social security account
numbers for registration with the New York state donate life registry
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To improve the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of registrations in
New York State by expressly authorizing and requiring the limited,
secure transmission of donor data by authorized insurers and related
entities to the New York State Donate Life Registry.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The bill updates existing law to explicitly authorize the use of data
for organ and tissue donation registration purposes and clarifies data
facilitation frameworks within the Insurance Law. Specifically, the
bill:
* Amends section 399-ddd of the General Business Law to expressly recog-
nize organ donation as a permissible purpose for requesting and using a
Social Security number, consistent with the Public Health Law.
* Creates a new section of the Insurance Law authorizing insurers,
producers, and other authorized entities to request and collect an indi-
vidual's Social Security number upon an affirmative election to register
as an organ and tissue donor.
* Requires entities to transmit necessary registration information,
including Social Security numbers, to the Department of Health and/or
the entity operating the New York State Donate Life Registry solely for
the purposes of donor registration.
* Prohibits the use of Social Security numbers collected under this
authority for underwriting, rating, eligibility determinations, market-
ing, claims handling, or any purpose unrelated to donor registration.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State has made significant progress in expanding opportunities
for individuals to register as organ and tissue donors through the
Department of Motor Vehicles, online platforms, and, more recently,
health insurance enrollment and renewal processes. As these enrollment
pathways have expanded, ensuring the integrity and accuracy of donor
records has become increasingly important.
The New York State Donate Life Registry relies on stable, unique identi-
fiers to ensure that an individual's affirmative decision to donate is
accurately captured, preserved, and honored at a critical moment. While
DMV-issued identifiers function effectively within motor vehicle trans-
actions, many insurers and health plans do not collect those identifiers
and instead rely on Social Security numbers as their primary unique
identifier. The absence of a shared identifier across enrollment chan-
nels increases the risk of duplicate records, incomplete donor profiles,
and administrative inefficiencies.
This bill addresses that challenge by providing clear statutory authori-
ty for the limited use of Social Security numbers as a shared identifier
for donor registration purposes only. The bill does not create a new
registry, expand eligibility, or mandate donation. Rather, it ensures
that when a New Yorker chooses to register as a donor, that decision is
accurately recorded and reliably linked to a single, complete registry
record.
Strong privacy and security protections are embedded throughout the
bill. Use of Social Security numbers is strictly limited to donor regis-
tration functions, secondary uses are expressly prohibited, and all data
handling remains subject to existing state and federal privacy and secu-
rity requirements. Individuals receive notice that providing a Social
Security number is optional and that it will be used solely for donor
registration purposes.
By improving data quality and reducing duplication, the bill supports
more accurate donor statistics, strengthens public trust in the regis-
tration process, and enhances the state's ability to honor lifesaving
donor decisions. These targeted, commonsense updates align with prior
legislative efforts to modernize organ donation registration while
preserving robust privacy safeguards.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10757
IN ASSEMBLY
March 30, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TAPIA -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the general business law, the insurance law and the
public health law, in relation to collection of social security
account numbers for registration with the New York state donate life
registry
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 3 of section 399-ddd of the
2 general business law, as added by chapter 372 of the laws of 2012, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (i) The social security account number is requested for the purpose
5 of:
6 i. the collection of child or spousal support;
7 ii. determining whether an individual has a criminal record; [or]
8 iii. blood donation; or
9 iv. organ donation and purposes consistent with section forty-three
10 hundred ten of the public health law.
11 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 399-ddd of the general business law, as
12 amended by chapter 371 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as
13 follows:
14 3. This section does not prevent the collection, use, or release of a
15 social security account number as required by state or federal law, the
16 use of a social security account number for internal verification, for
17 purposes consistent with section forty-three hundred ten of the public
18 health law or section thirty-one hundred fourteen of the insurance law,
19 fraud investigation or administrative purposes or for any business func-
20 tion specifically authorized by 15 U.S.C. 6802.
21 § 3. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3114 to read
22 as follows:
23 § 3114. Data facilitation for anatomical gift registration. (a) Defi-
24 nitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall
25 have the following meanings:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15371-01-6
A. 10757 2
1 (1) "New York state donate life registry" means the donate life regis-
2 try established under section forty-three hundred ten of the public
3 health law.
4 (2) "Social security account number" shall have the same meaning as
5 described in section three hundred ninety-nine-ddd of the general busi-
6 ness law, as added by chapter three hundred seventy-two of the laws of
7 two thousand twelve.
8 (3) "Affirmative election" means an election to make an anatomical
9 gift in the New York state donate life registry under article forty-
10 three of the public health law.
11 (b) Authority to collect. Any authorized insurer, or any producer or
12 other entity acting on behalf of such insurer, shall upon an individ-
13 ual's affirmative election or direction from the department, request and
14 collect such individual's social security account number solely for the
15 purpose of facilitating such affirmative election.
16 (c) Duty to disclose. Pursuant to an affirmative election, an insurer
17 shall transmit all necessary information, including the social security
18 account number of the individual making such affirmative election, to
19 the department of health for the sole purpose of effectuating, verify-
20 ing, or amending such individual's donor registration status in the New
21 York state donate life registry.
22 (d) Prohibited uses. Information collected under this section shall
23 not be used for underwriting, rating, eligibility determinations,
24 marketing, claims handling, or any other purpose unrelated to the New
25 York state donate life registry.
26 (e) Safeguards. Information collected for the purposes of this section
27 shall be handled and transmitted in accordance with all applicable state
28 and federal laws governing such information.
29 § 4. Section 3217-a of the insurance law is amended by adding a new
30 subsection (h) to read as follows:
31 (h) Any insurer delivering or issuing policies for delivery in this
32 state that provide major medical or similar comprehensive-type coverage
33 under this article shall be subject to the provisions of section thir-
34 ty-one hundred fourteen of this chapter.
35 § 5. Section 4324 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new
36 subsection (h) to read as follows:
37 (h) Any corporation delivering or issuing contracts for delivery in
38 this state that provide major medical or similar comprehensive-type
39 coverage under this article shall be subject to the provisions of
40 section thirty-one hundred fourteen of this chapter.
41 § 6. Subdivision 8 of section 4408 of the public health law, as
42 amended by chapter 418 of the laws of 2025, is renumbered subdivision 9.
43 § 7. Subdivision 9 of section 4408 of the public health law, as
44 amended by chapter 418 of the laws of 2025 and as renumbered by section
45 six of this act, is amended to read as follows:
46 9. (a) Every contract delivered or issued for delivery in this state
47 which provides major medical or similar comprehensive-type coverage
48 shall provide space on any enrollment, renewal or initial online portal
49 process setup forms required of a subscriber or applicant for coverage,
50 excepting forms issued by the NY State of Health, the official Health
51 Plan Marketplace, other than those specifically referenced in subpara-
52 graph (iv) of paragraph (a) of subdivision five of section forty-three
53 hundred ten and paragraph (v) of subdivision one of section two hundred
54 six of this chapter, so that the subscriber or applicant for coverage
55 shall register or decline registration in the donate life registry for
56 organ, eye and tissue donations under this section of the enrollment or
A. 10757 3
1 renewal form and that the following is stated on the form in clear and
2 conspicuous type:
3 "You must fill out the following section: Would you like to be added
4 to the Donate Life Registry? Check box for 'yes' or 'skip this ques-
5 tion'."
6 (b) Every insurer or corporation issuing or delivering contracts as
7 described under paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be subject to
8 the provisions of section thirty-one hundred fourteen of the insurance
9 law.
10 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.
