Relates to dental COVID-19 liability immunity; adds dentistry to health care professionals covered with liability immunity in providing certain services during the COVID-19 outbreak.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10714
SPONSOR: Rules (Abbate) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to dental COVID-19
liability immunity
PURPOSE:
This bill grants the same liability immunity to dentists for treating
patients during the COVID-19 public health emergency as is granted to
other health care professionals and to unregistered dentists.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill amends article 30-D, section 3081 of the Public Health Law.
Section 1 of the bill adds dentists (Article 133) to the list of health
care professionals covered by the COVID-19.liability immunity law.
Section 2 of the bill provides that the bill shall take effect imme-
diately.
JUSTIFICATION:
Dentists have been providing emergency and urgent care services to
patients pursuant to Executive Order 202.8. An ambiguity exists as to
whether dentists enjoy the same immunity granted to other health care
professionals for treating patients during the COVID-19 public health
emergency declared by the Governor. Unregistered dentists clearly enjoy
such an immunity, but the anomalous potential for registered dentists
not to enjoy the same protection exists. Therefore, this bill is neces-
sary to address that ambiguity and make it clear that dentists enjoy the
same COVID-19 liability protections as many other designated health care
professionals, including dentists who are not registered to practice.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The bill shall take effect immediately upon being enacted into law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10714
IN ASSEMBLY
July 1, 2020
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Abbate) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to dental COVID-19
liability immunity
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 3081 of the
2 public health law, as added by section 1 of part GGG of chapter 56 of
3 the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
4 (a) licensed or otherwise authorized under title eight, article one
5 hundred thirty-one, one hundred thirty-one-B, one hundred thirty-one-C,
6 one hundred thirty-three, one hundred thirty-seven, one hundred thirty-
7 nine, one hundred forty, one hundred fifty-three, one hundred fifty-
8 four, one hundred sixty-three, one hundred sixty-four or one hundred
9 sixty-five of the education law;
10 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16792-01-0
