NY State Senate Bill 2019-S5939

Senate Bill S5939

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to changing the default standard on statutory health proxy forms regarding life-sustaining treatment standards

download bill text pdf

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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to health
May 16, 2019	referred to health

2019-S5939 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§2980, 2981 & 2982, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S4967
2023-2024: S2777

2019-S5939 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to life-sustaining treatment standards.

2019-S5939 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5939

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
the artificial nutrition and hydration decision standard

 
PURPOSE:

This is one of a series of seven bills, informally referred to as the
"Surrogate Decision-Making Improvement Acts." The bills make
technical/minor, clarifying and coordinating amendments and other
improvements to the Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) (Ch. 8,
Laws of 2010) and other laws that govern health care decisions, includ-
ing life-sustaining treatment decisions, for patients who lack deci-
sion-making capacity. This bill makes the standards for a health care
agent's decision regarding artificial nutrition and hydration consistent
with the Family Health Care Decision Act (FHCDA).

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one amends subdivision 4 of section 2980 of the public health

law, as added by chapter 752 of the laws of 1990.

Section two amends the fourth undesignated paragraph of paragraph (d) of
subdivision 5 of section 2981 of the public health law, as added by
chapter 752 of the laws of 1990.

Section three amends subdivision 2 of section 2982 of the public health
law, as amended by chapter 230 of the laws of 2004.

Section four sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill makes the decision-making standard for an agent under the
Health Care Proxy Law similar to the standard for a surrogate under the
Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA).

Specifically, the FHCDA provides that a surrogate must make decisions
about life-sustaining treatment, including artificial nutrition and
hydration, based on the patient's wishes or, if the patient's wishes are
not reasonably known, based on the patient's best interests.  In
contrast, the 1990 Health Care Proxy Law allows the patient's designated
agent to make decisions about artificial nutrition and hydration only if
the decision is based on the patient's reasonably known wishes, and not
if the decision is based on the patient's best interests. There is
little basis for this disparity in standards.  Moreover, the special
rule for decisions about artificial nutrition and hydration in the
Health Care Proxy Law has been a source of enduring confusion and misin-
terpretation.

This amendment would make the FHCDA standard, with its careful defi-
nition of "best interests," which now applies to decisions made by
surrogates, applicable to decisions by health care agents.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2014: S.7154A - Referred to Health

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect ninety days after the date on which this act
shall have become a law. The amendments to article 29-C of the public
health law shall apply to decisions made pursuant to health care proxies
created prior to this act becoming law as well as those created there-
after.

2019-S5939 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5939
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RIVERA -- 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  the  artificial
   nutrition and hydration decision standard
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 2980 of the public health law,  as
 added by chapter 752 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
   4. "Health care" means any treatment, service or procedure to diagnose
 or treat an individual's physical or mental condition.  PROVIDING NUTRI-
 TION  OR HYDRATION ORALLY, WITHOUT RELIANCE ON MEDICAL TREATMENT, IS NOT
 HEALTH CARE UNDER THIS ARTICLE AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO THIS ARTICLE.
   § 2. The fourth undesignated paragraph of paragraph (d) of subdivision
 5 of section 2981 of the public health law, as added by chapter  752  of
 the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
   NOTE:  Although not necessary, and neither encouraged nor discouraged,
 you may wish to state instructions or wishes,  and  limit  your  agent's
 authority.  [Unless your agent knows your wishes about artificial nutri-
 tion and hydration, your agent will not have authority to  decide  about
 artificial  nutrition  and  hydration.]  FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MAY STATE YOUR
 WISHES REGARDING WITHHOLDING OR  WITHDRAWING  LIFE-SUSTAINING  TREATMENT
 (INCLUDING  HYDRATION  AND NUTRITION PROVIDED BY MEANS OF MEDICAL TREAT-
 MENT)  TO  GUIDE  YOUR  AGENT'S  DECISIONS.  If  you  choose  to   state
 instructions, wishes, or limits, please do so below:
   ______________________________________________________________________
   ______________________________________________________________________
   ______________________________________________________________________
   §  3.  Subdivision  2  of  section  2982  of the public health law, as
 amended by chapter 230 of the laws  of  2004,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02549-01-9

 S. 5939                             2
 
   2. Decision-making standard. After consultation with a licensed physi-
 cian,  registered  nurse,  licensed psychologist, licensed master social
 worker, or a licensed clinical  social  worker,  the  agent  shall  make
 health  care  decisions:  (a) in accordance with the principal's wishes,
 including  the  principal's  religious  and moral beliefs; or (b) if the
 principal's wishes are not reasonably known and cannot  with  reasonable
 diligence be ascertained, in accordance with the principal's best inter-
 ests[;  provided,  however, that if the principal's wishes regarding the
 administration of artificial nutrition and hydration are not  reasonably
 known  and  cannot  with  reasonable diligence be ascertained, the agent
 shall not have the authority to make  decisions  regarding  these  meas-
 ures].
   §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law, provided that the amendments  to  sections  2981  and
 2982 of the public health law made by sections two and three of this act
 shall  apply  to  decisions made pursuant to health care proxies created
 prior to the effective date of this act as well as those created  there-
 after.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.