NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1336
SPONSOR: Dinowitz TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring immuni-
zation information systems to record data on the number of vaccine
exemptions reported by each health care provider
PURPOSE:
To ensure that the Department of Health has sufficient information to
investigate suspicious patterns of vaccine medical exemptions and take
appropriate actions.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends paragraph (f) of subdivision 5 of 2168 of
the public health law to require that records of medical exemptions to
the school vaccination requirement issued by health care providers must
be entered into the statewide immunization information system or the New
York City Health Department's citywide immunization registry in a manner
that allows the Commissioner of the Department of Health to search and
access the number of exemptions reported by each individual health care
provider.
Section two of the bill provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2019, New York State ended the religious exemption to school vaccina-
tion requirements. Children who have medical conditions that would
prevent them from receiving the normal schedule of vaccines are still
eligible to receive medical exemptions from the requirement.However,
other states that have ended religious exemptions to vaccine require-
ments have seen a surge in spurious medical exemptions. For example,
news outlets have reported that 30-50% of kindergarteners at some Cali-
fornia schools received medical exemptions after California ended the
religious exemption to school vaccination requirements. Other reporting
uncovered the fact.that a few "bad apples" within the medical profession
were handing out large numbers of exemptions, often after having been
paid by parents to find a reason to exempt their child.
To avoid the same 'problems in New York, the Department of Health must
have the tools to quickly and easily identify any medical practitioners
who may be giving out an unusually large number of medical exemptions.
Current law requires that health care providers must report the immuni-
zation status of children under their care, and this information is
entered into the statewide immunization information system (or in New
York City, into the city's immunization registry) and subsequently made
available in the aggregate for schools and school districts around the
state. However, the Department does not currently track information
about exemptions at the level of individual health care providers. This
legislation would require that information on medical exemptions be
entered. into the existing immunization information systems in a manner
that would allow the Commissioner of the Department of Health and his or
her designees to search and access the number of exemptions reported by
each individual health care provider. This information will allow the
Department to identify and investigate any suspicious patterns of
exemptions.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.1736 -Health/S.3373- Health
2021-22: A.2255 -Health/S.1653- Health
2019-20: A.8679 -Health/S.6771- Health
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1336
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, REYES, TAYLOR, MAGNARELLI, HEVESI,
GLICK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring immuni-
zation information systems to record data on the number of vaccine
exemptions reported by each health care provider
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 5 of section 2168 of the
2 public health law, as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2019, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (f) The immunization status of children exempt from immunizations
5 pursuant to subdivision eight of section twenty-one hundred sixty-four
6 of this title shall be reported by the health care provider. Such
7 reported information shall be entered into the statewide immunization
8 information system and the New York city health department's citywide
9 immunization registry by the department or, as appropriate, by the
10 department of health and mental hygiene for the city of New York, in a
11 manner that allows the commissioner and their designees to search and
12 access the number of exemptions reported by each individual health care
13 provider.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
15 it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03195-01-5
