Expands eligibility for appointment to county boards of health and health services advisory boards to include nurse practitioners and physician assistants; expands to residents in the county or residents of a contiguous county who have a background in a health-related field and perform substantial work in the county associated with their health-related background.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8232A
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to expanding eligi-
bility for appointment to county boards of health and health services
advisory boards
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To amend the public health law to expand eligibility for those who serve
on the county boards of health
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends section 343 of the public health law by
expanding the list of eligible providers to serve on county health
boards and the residency requirement
Section 2 of the bill amends section 357 of the public health law by
expanding the list of eligible providers to serve on county health
boards
Section 3 of the bill amends section 357 of the public health law to add
a new section related to the residency requirements of board of health
members
Section 4 of the bill provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
There is a shortage of health care providers facing the State, and the,
local county health departments are feeling the impact of the shortage
as well. Per current public health law, the local boards of health are
to have three physicians on the board. Many of the local health depart-
ments, especially in rural areas, are having trouble meeting this statu-
tory requirement because there are not enough physicians in certain
areas of the State who have the time to add serving on a county health
department to their already busy schedules.
This legislation would amend the law to make the requirement for health
care providers be at least one physician with the other positions able
to be filled by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Further,
the law would be amended to allow for a board member from a contiguous
county to serve on a local board of health as long as they do substan-
tial work in that county and have a healthcare background.
These changes will allow for flexibility on the composition of the local
county health boards while still ensuring that there is health care
provider expertise and will help to ensure that the county health boards
have a full compliment of members, which is not the current case in New
York.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8232--A
Cal. No. 232
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
November 6, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, SAYEGH -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in
accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- advanced to a third read-
ing, passed by Assembly and delivered to the Senate, recalled from the
Senate, vote reconsidered, bill amended, ordered reprinted, retaining
its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to expanding eligi-
bility for appointment to county boards of health and health services
advisory boards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 343 of the public health
2 law are amended to read as follows:
3 1. The board of health of a county or part-county health district
4 shall consist of seven members, one of whom shall be a member of the
5 board of supervisors, selected by the board of supervisors, and at least
6 [three] one of whom shall be [physicians] a physician licensed to prac-
7 tice in the state of New York, and two of whom shall be a physician,
8 nurse practitioner, physician assistant or any combination thereof
9 licensed to practice in the state of New York, and in addition thereto,
10 each city which becomes a part of the county or part-county health
11 district shall be entitled to one additional representative member on
12 the board of health.
13 2. The members of the board of health of a county or part-county
14 health district shall be residents of the health district or a resident
15 of a contiguous county who has a background in a health-related field
16 and performs other substantial work within the health district associ-
17 ated with their health-related background.
18 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 357 of the public health law, as added
19 by chapter 55 of the laws of 1974, is amended and a new subdivision 7 is
20 added to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13441-04-4
A. 8232--A 2
1 1. In a county wherein the legislative body constitutes the board of
2 health of such county under and pursuant to the provisions of section
3 three hundred fifty-six of this [article] title, the county shall
4 provide for the appointment by the board of health of a health services
5 advisory board consisting of nine members. [Two members] One member
6 shall be [licensed physicians] a physician licensed to practice in the
7 state of New York and one member shall be a physician, nurse practition-
8 er, or physician assistant licensed to practice in the state of New
9 York. The remaining members of the board shall be known as public
10 members and shall be selected on the basis of their interest and know-
11 ledge regarding the health needs, resources and facilities of the commu-
12 nity.
13 7. Board members shall be residents of the county or a resident of a
14 contiguous county who has a background in a health-related field and
15 performs other substantial work within the county associated with their
16 health-related background.
17 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
