BILL NUMBER:  S7167

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to direct the New York state department of
health to conduct a study on the high incidence of asthma in the
borough of the Bronx in the city of New York and to prepare a remedial
plan

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL : The general purpose of the bill is
to ensure that the State Department of Health conducts a study of the
high incidence of asthma in the Borough of the Bronx in the City of
New York and provide the Governor and the Legislature with a remedial
plan addressing high risk neighborhoods by examining disparities in:
income, race and ethnicity, public and private housing, proximity to
major sources of air pollution, and an evaluation of the effectiveness
of existing medical facilities.

 SUMMARY AND SPECIFIC PROVISIONS : Section 1 of this bill directs the
Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health to prepare a
remedial plan to address high incidence of asthma in the Borough of
the Bronx in the City of New York.

Section 2 of this bill provides that a study and remedial plan shall
be completed within twelve months of the effective date of this act.

Section 3 of this bill provides that this act shall take effect on the
one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become law. The results
              

of the remedial plan shall be provided to the Governor and the
Legislature no later than eighteen months from the beginning of such
study.

 JUSTIFICATION : Asthma is a respiratory disease that kills nearly
255,000 people worldwide each year. Asthma also affects more than one
million people in the state of New York and approximately twenty
percent of the children in the Bronx making this a major health crisis
in the borough. The Bronx County rate of asthma is approximately four
to five times greater than the national average and twenty-one times
greater than some other areas in New York City.  Sixty-six percent of
the Bronx County's inhabited area is affected by major sources of
pollution.

This legislation addresses the severe problem of asthma in the Bronx
by utilizing the talents of some of the best public health
professionals in the State of New York by requiring the Department of
Health to prepare what will be in affect a road map to address this
pressing public health issue.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : New Bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : None

 EFFECTIVE DATE : This bill shall take effect the 120th day after
becoming law.