NY State Senate Bill 2019-S1406

Senate Bill S1406

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to requiring health care facilities to report incidents of a sexual offense to the departments of both health and education

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to health
Jan 14, 2019	referred to health

co-Sponsors

2019-S1406 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1123
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2803-e, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S5124, A5474
2021-2022: S2277, A5011
2023-2024: S1699, A2991

2019-S1406 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires health care facilities to report incidents of a sexual offense to the departments of health and education.

2019-S1406 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1406

SPONSOR: HELMING
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to reporting inci-
dents of possible professional misconduct

 
PURPOSE:

To enact Clara's Law requiring hospitals and health care facilities to
report incidents of a sexual offense to the State Departments of Health
and Education.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 establishes the title "Clara's Law."

Section 2 amends subdivision 1 of section 2803-e of the Public Health
Law by adding a new paragraph (c) to require hospitals and health care
facilities to report within 30 days all allegations of a sexual offense

by a health care practitioner which involves a patient.

Section 3 amends subdivision 2 of section 2803-e of the Public Health
Law to require reports to be made to both the Department of Health and
the Education Department and defines "health care practitioner."

Section 4 contains the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This legislation is named after the late Clara Mae Bowman, who was sexu-
ally abused by an Intensive care-unit nurse at a Florida hospital in
2006. Her abuser resigned from the hospital amid the allegations and
went to work at another hospital where he later abused another patient.
That hospital was not aware of the allegations when they hired him. This
legislation is necessary to stop health care workers who have abused
patients from moving to other hospitals or healthcare facilities without
those facilities knowing their background.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018: S.5124 referred to Health/A.5474 held in Health
2017: S.5124 reported from Health to Higher Education/A.5474 referred to
Health

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2019-S1406 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1406
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 14, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation  to  reporting  inci-
   dents of possible professional misconduct
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Clara's Law".
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 2803-e of  the  public  health  law,  as
 added  by  chapter  866  of the laws of 1980, is amended by adding a new
 paragraph (c) to read as follows:
   (C) HOSPITALS AND OTHER FACILITIES APPROVED PURSUANT TO  THIS  ARTICLE
 SHALL  MAKE  A REPORT OR CAUSE A REPORT TO BE MADE WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF
 EVERY SEPARATE ALLEGATION OF A SEXUAL OFFENSE, AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE ONE
 HUNDRED THIRTY OF THE PENAL LAW, BY A  HEALTH  CARE  PRACTITIONER  WHICH
 INVOLVES A PATIENT.
   §  3.  Subdivision  2  of  section 2803-e of the public health law, as
 amended by chapter 542 of the laws of 2000, is amended and a new  subdi-
 vision 4 is added to read as follows:
   2.  Reports  of possible professional misconduct made pursuant to this
 section shall be made  in  writing  to  the  education  department  with
 respect  to  all  individuals  licensed  pursuant  to title eight of the
 education law except that such reports shall be made to  the  department
 of health in the case of physicians, physician's assistants and special-
 ist's assistants. REPORTS FOR ALL ALLEGATIONS OF A SEXUAL OFFENSE PURSU-
 ANT  TO PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE MADE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
 HEALTH IN ADDITION TO THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WITH RESPECT TO ALL INDI-
 VIDUALS LICENSED PURSUANT TO TITLE EIGHT OF THE EDUCATION  LAW.  Written
 reports shall include the following information:
   (a) name, address, profession and license number of the individual;
   (b)  a  description  of the action taken by the hospital including the
 reason for the action and the date thereof, or the nature of the  action
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD04081-01-9

 S. 1406                             2
 
 or  conduct  which  led  to  the resignation or withdrawal, and the date
 thereof, stated with sufficient specificity to allow a reasonable person
 to understand which of the reasons enumerated in subdivision one of this
 section  led  to  the action of the hospital or the resignation or with-
 drawal of the individual, and, if the reason was an act or  omission  of
 the individual, the particular act or omission;
   (c) any criminal conviction of which the hospital has knowledge; and
   (d)  such other information as the education department or the depart-
 ment of health shall require.
   4. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION THE TERM  "HEALTH  CARE  PRACTITIONER"
 SHALL MEAN A PERSON LICENSED, CERTIFIED OR OTHERWISE AUTHORIZED TO PRAC-
 TICE UNDER TITLE EIGHT OF THE EDUCATION LAW.
   §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S1406

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Sponsored By

Pamela Helming