S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6529
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
June 14, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the maternal
mortality review board
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 2509 of the public health law, as added by a chap-
ter of the laws of 2019, amending the public health law relating to
maternal mortality review boards and the maternal mortality and morbidi-
ty advisory council, as proposed in legislative bills numbers A.3276 and
S.1819, is amended to read as follows:
§ 2509. Maternal mortality review board. 1. (a) There is hereby estab-
lished in the department the maternal mortality review board for the
purpose of reviewing maternal deaths and maternal morbidity and develop-
ing and disseminating findings, recommendations, and best practices to
contribute to the prevention of maternal mortality and morbidity. The
board shall assess the cause of death, factors leading to death and
preventability for each maternal death reviewed and, in the discretion
of the board, cases of severe maternal morbidity, and shall develop and
disseminate strategies for reducing the risk of maternal mortality and
morbidity, including risk resulting from racial, economic, or other
disparities. The commissioner may delegate the authority to conduct
maternal mortality reviews.
(b) The commissioner may enter into an agreement with the city of New
York providing:
(i) that the functions of the state board relating to maternal deaths
and severe maternal morbidity occurring within the city of New York
shall be conducted by the city board;
(ii) the city board shall provide to the state board the results of
its reviews, relevant information in the possession of the city board,
and the recommendations of the city board; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00490-03-9
S. 6529 2
(iii) the department and the state board shall provide information and
assistance to the city board for the performance of its functions.
(c) Nothing in this section shall prevent the city of New York from
establishing, without an agreement with the commissioner, a board relat-
ing to maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity occurring within
the city of New York.
2. As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Advisory council" and "council" mean the advisory council on
maternal mortality and morbidity, established under this section.
(b) "Board" means a maternal mortality review board established by
this section, referred to in this section as the "state board", or a
board operating under this section established by the city of New York,
with or without an agreement with the commissioner, referred to in this
section as the "city board".
(c) "Maternal death" means the death of a woman during pregnancy or
within a year from the end of pregnancy.
(d) "Severe maternal morbidity" OR "MORBIDITY" means unexpected
outcomes of pregnancy, labor, or delivery that result in significant
short- or long-term consequences to a woman's health.
(e) "City commissioner" means the commissioner of the New York city
department of health and mental hygiene.
3. (a) The members of the state board shall be comprised of multidis-
ciplinary experts in the field of maternal mortality, women's health and
public health, and shall include health care professionals or other
experts who serve and are representative of the RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND
SOCIOECONOMIC diversity of the women and mothers [in] OF THE STATE AND,
TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, THE medically underserved areas of the state or
areas of the state with disproportionately high occurrences of maternal
mortality or morbidity.
(b) The state board shall be composed of at least fifteen members, all
of whom shall be appointed by the commissioner.
(c) The terms of the state board members shall be three years. The
commissioner may choose to reappoint state board members to additional
three year terms.
(d) A majority of the appointed membership of the state board, no less
than three, shall constitute a quorum.
(e) When any member of the state board fails to attend three consec-
utive regular meetings, unless such absence is for good cause, that
membership may be deemed vacant for purposes of the appointment of a
successor.
(f) Meetings of the state board shall be held at least twice a year
but may be held more frequently as deemed necessary, subject to request
of the department.
(g) Members of the state and city boards shall be indemnified under
section seventeen of the public officers law or section fifty-k of the
general municipal law, as the case may be.
(h) Members of the state board shall not be compensated for their
participation on the board but shall receive reimbursement for their
ordinary and necessary expenses of participation.
(i) Membership on a board shall not disqualify any person from holding
any public office or employment.
4. (a) The commissioner [and the city commissioner, as the case may
be,] may request and shall receive upon request from any department,
division, board, bureau, commission, local health departments or other
agency of the state or political subdivision thereof or any public
authority, SUCH INFORMATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DEATH RECORDS,
S. 6529 3
MEDICAL RECORDS, AUTOPSY REPORTS, TOXICOLOGY REPORTS, HOSPITAL DISCHARGE
RECORDS, BIRTH RECORDS AND ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT WILL HELP THE
DEPARTMENT UNDER THIS SECTION TO PROPERLY CARRY OUT ITS FUNCTIONS,
POWERS AND DUTIES. THE COMMISSIONER, OR THE CITY COMMISSIONER FOR THE
MATERNAL DEATHS OR MATERNAL MORBIDITY OCCURRING WITHIN THE VITAL STATIS-
TICS REGISTRATION DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK MAY REQUEST AND SHALL
RECEIVE UPON REQUEST FROM ANY DEPARTMENT, DIVISION, BOARD, COMMISSION OR
OTHER AGENCY UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK as well as
hospitals established pursuant to article twenty-eight of this chapter,
birthing facilities, medical examiners, coroners and coroner physicians
and any other facility providing services associated with maternal
mortality OR MATERNAL MORBIDITY, such information, including, but not
limited to, death records, medical records, autopsy reports, toxicology
reports, hospital discharge records, birth records and any other infor-
mation that will help the department under this section to properly
carry out its functions, powers and duties.
(b) The commissioner and the city commissioner shall receive and may
solicit voluntary information, including oral or written statements,
relating to any maternal death and case of severe maternal morbidity,
from any family member or other interested party (including the patient
in a case of severe maternal morbidity) relating to any case that may
come before the board. Oral statements received under this paragraph
shall be transcribed or summarized in writing. The commissioner and the
city commissioner shall transmit that information to the board consider-
ing the case.
(c) Before transmitting any information to the board, the commissioner
or the city commissioner shall remove all personal identifying informa-
tion of the woman, health care practitioner or practitioners or anyone
else individually named in such information, as well as the hospital or
facility that treated the woman, and any other information such as
geographic location that may inadvertently identify the woman, practi-
tioner or facility. This paragraph shall not preclude the transmitting
of information to the board that is reasonably necessary to enable the
board to perform an appropriate review under this section.
5. Each board:
(a) shall make and report findings and recommendations to the commis-
sioner [or city commissioner, as the case may be], AND IN THE CASE OF
THE CITY BOARD TO THE COMMISSIONER AND THE CITY COMMISSIONER regarding
the cause of death, factors leading to death, and preventability of each
maternal death case, and each case of severe maternal morbidity reviewed
by the board, by reviewing relevant information for each case in the
state or the city of New York, as the case may be, and consulting with
experts as needed to evaluate the information for each death; and shall
provide such findings and recommendations, including best practices and
strategies for reducing the risk of maternal mortality and morbidity, to
the advisory council; provided that material provided to the advisory
council shall not include any information that would be confidential
under this section;
(b) shall develop recommendations to the commissioner [or city commis-
sioner, as the case may be], AND IN THE CASE OF THE CITY BOARD TO THE
COMMISSIONER AND THE CITY COMMISSIONER for areas of focus, including
issues of severe maternal morbidity and issues of racial, economic or
other disparities in maternal outcomes;
(c) may, in addition to the findings and recommendations made under
this subdivision, and consistent with all applicable confidentiality
protections, bring any particular matter to the attention of the commis-
S. 6529 4
sioner or the city commissioner, AND IN THE CASE OF THE CITY BOARD TO
THE COMMISSIONER AND THE CITY COMMISSIONER;
(d) shall issue a report on its findings and recommendations every two
years, and may also issue reports more frequently. The reports shall be
public documents; and
(e) may request and shall receive the assistance of the commissioner
IN THE INSTANCE OF THE STATE BOARD and the city commissioner IN THE
INSTANCE OF THE CITY BOARD in carrying out its functions.
6. The commissioner and the city commissioner and the state and city
boards shall each keep confidential any information collected or
received under this section that includes personal identifying informa-
tion of the woman, health care practitioner or practitioners or anyone
else individually named in such information, as well as the hospital or
facility that treated the woman, and any other information such as
geographic location that may inadvertently identify the woman, practi-
tioner or facility, and shall use the information provided or received
under this section solely for the purposes of improvement of the quality
of health care of women and to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity.
This subdivision shall not preclude the transmitting of information to
the board that is reasonably necessary to enable the board to perform an
appropriate review under this section. All records received, meetings
conducted, reports, EXCEPT THOSE REPORTS REQUIRED TO BE ISSUED BY THE
BOARD BY THIS SECTION, and records made and maintained and all books and
papers obtained by the board shall be confidential and shall not be made
open or available, including under article six of the public officers
law, and shall be limited to board members as well as those authorized
by the commissioner or city commissioner. Such information shall not be
discoverable or admissible as evidence in any action in any court or
before any other tribunal, board, agency or person.
7. The commissioner and the city commissioner, within their respective
legal authority, may use the recommendations and findings of the boards
to develop guidance and other actions relating to best practices, and
shall disseminate information relating to that guidance and other
actions to appropriate health care providers.
8. (a) There is hereby established in the department an advisory coun-
cil on maternal mortality and morbidity.
(b) The advisory council:
(i) may review the findings of the boards;
(ii) may develop recommendations on policies, best practices, and
strategies to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity;
(iii) may hold public hearings on those matters;
(iv) may make findings and issue reports, including an annual report,
on such matters; and
(v) may request and shall receive the assistance of the commissioner,
the city commissioner, and the boards in carrying out its functions.
(c) The advisory council shall consist of at least twenty members[,]
to be determined by the commissioner. The commissioner [and the city
commissioner] shall [each] appoint [half of] the members of the council,
AT LEAST TEN OF WHOM SHALL BE ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CITY COMMIS-
SIONER. The commissioner shall appoint the chair of the council.
(d) The members of the council shall be comprised of multidisciplinary
experts and lay persons knowledgeable in the field of maternal mortal-
ity, women's health and public health and shall include members who
serve and are representative of the RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND SOCIOECONOMIC
diversity of the women and mothers [in] OF THE STATE, AND TO THE EXTENT
POSSIBLE, THE medically underserved areas of the state or areas of the
S. 6529 5
state with disproportionately high occurrences of maternal mortality or
morbidity.
(e) The terms of the council members shall be three years. The
[appointing official] COMMISSIONER may choose to reappoint council
members to additional three-year terms. Vacancies on the council shall
be filled by appointment by the [appointing official] COMMISSIONER,
CONSISTENT WITH PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. A majority of the
appointed membership of the council shall constitute a quorum. When any
member of the council fails to attend three consecutive regular meet-
ings, unless such absence is for good cause, that membership may be
deemed vacant for purposes of the appointment of a successor.
(f) Meetings of the council shall be held at least twice a year.
(g) Members of the council shall be indemnified under section seven-
teen of the public officers law. Members of the council shall not be
compensated for their participation on the council but shall receive
reimbursement for their ordinary and necessary expenses of partic-
ipation. Membership on the council shall not disqualify any person from
holding any public office or employment.
§ 2. This act shall take effect of the same date and in the same
manner as a chapter of the laws of 2019, amending the public health law
relating to maternal mortality review boards and the maternal mortality
and morbidity advisory council, as proposed in legislative bills numbers
A.3276 and S.1819, takes effect.