S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   11132
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             November 6, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Gottfried)
   -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health  law,  in  relation  to  creating  the
   health emergency response data system
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  section
 206-c to read as follows:
   § 206-C. HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE DATA SYSTEM. 1. A. THE HEALTH EMER-
 GENCY  RESPONSE  DATA SYSTEM, REFERRED TO IN THIS SECTION AS "HERDS", IS
 HEREBY CREATED IN THE DEPARTMENT. THE HERDS  SHALL  COLLECT  INFORMATION
 AND  STATISTICAL  DATA,  REFERRED  TO IN THIS SECTION AS "HERDS INFORMA-
 TION", RELATING TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES AND  HEALTH  CARE  SERVICES
 RELATED TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES, IN ORDER TO ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT,
 OTHER  GOVERNMENT  ENTITIES,  HEALTH  CARE  PROVIDERS, AND THE PUBLIC IN
 UNDERSTANDING AND RESPONDING TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES.
   B. INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE HERDS INFORMATION SHALL BE KEPT CONFIDEN-
 TIAL. HERDS INFORMATION DISCLOSED UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE AGGREGATED
 SO IT CANNOT BE INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE, BUT IT SHALL  CONTAIN  SUFFI-
 CIENT  DETAIL,  SO IT REFERS TO SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC AREAS AND HOSPITALS,
 AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE TWENTY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER.
   C. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL MAKE REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING THIS SECTION.
   2. A. THE  HERDS  SHALL  COLLECT  HERDS  INFORMATION,  INCLUDING  FROM
 SURVEYS SUBMITTED BY HOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.
   B.  THE  HERDS  SHALL  BE  OPERATED  BY  THE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING THE
 COLLECTING AND MAKING AVAILABLE INFORMATION, IN CONJUNCTION WITH AND  TO
 IMPROVE THE DEPARTMENT'S FULFILLMENT OF ITS RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER ARTI-
 CLES TWENTY-ONE AND FORTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.
   §  2.  Paragraph  b  of  subdivision  2 of section 206-c of the public
 health law, as added by section one of this act, is amended to  read  as
 follows:
   b.    HERDS SHALL MAKE HERDS INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO GOVERNMENT ENTI-
 TIES, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND THE PUBLIC, INCLUDING  POSTING  ON  THE
 DEPARTMENT'S  WEBSITE,  AS SOON AND AS CLOSE TO REAL TIME AS PRACTICABLE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD17468-02-0

 A. 11132                            2
 
 AFTER IT IS COLLECTED BUT NO LATER THAN SEVEN DAYS AFTER IT IS  RECEIVED
 BY THE DEPARTMENT.
   C.  The  HERDS  shall  be  operated  by  the department, including the
 collecting and making available information, in conjunction with and  to
 improve the department's fulfillment of its responsibilities under arti-
 cles twenty-one and forty-one of this chapter.
   §  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately; provided, however,
 section two of this act shall take effect on the sixtieth day  after  it
 shall  have  become  a  law.  Effective immediately, the commissioner of
 health shall make regulations and take other actions  reasonably  neces-
 sary to implement each section of this act on its effective date.