S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  2994--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 31, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, BAILEY, BIAGGI, CARLUCCI, KRUEGER, MONTGOM-
   ERY,  RAMOS, SALAZAR, SKOUFIS, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered print-
   ed, and when printed to be committed to the  Committee  on  Health  --
   committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
   recommitted to said committee

 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation  to  exemptions  from
   vaccination  due  to  religious  beliefs;  to  repeal subdivision 9 of
   section 2164 of the public health  law,  relating  to  exemption  from
   vaccination  due to religious beliefs; and providing for the repeal of
   certain provisions upon expiration thereof
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision 9 of section 2164 of the public health law is
 REPEALED.
   § 2. Subdivisions 6 and 7 of section 2164 of the public health law, as
 amended by chapter 401 of the laws of  2015,  are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   6.  In  the  event that a person in parental relation to a child makes
 application for admission of such child to  a  school  or  has  a  child
 attending  school  and  there  exists no certificate or other acceptable
 evidence of  the  child's  immunization  against  poliomyelitis,  mumps,
 measles,  diphtheria,  rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, teta-
 nus, and, where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib),  menin-
 gococcal  disease,  and  pneumococcal  disease,  the principal, teacher,
 owner or person in charge of the school shall inform such person of  the
 necessity  to  have  the  child immunized, that such immunization may be
 administered by any health practitioner, or that the child may be immun-
 ized without charge by the health officer in the county where the  child
 resides,  if  such person executes a consent therefor. In the event that
 such person does not wish to select a health practitioner to  administer
 the  immunization,  he  or she shall be provided with a form which shall

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD00724-04-9

 S. 2994--A                          2
 
 give notice that as a prerequisite to  processing  the  application  for
 admission  to,  or  for  continued attendance at, the school such person
 shall state a valid reason for withholding consent or consent  shall  be
 given  for  immunization  to  be administered by a health officer in the
 public employ, or by a school physician or nurse. The form shall provide
 for the execution of a consent by such person and it  shall  also  state
 that  such person need not execute such consent if subdivision eight [or
 nine] of this section [apply] APPLIES to such child.
   7. (a) No principal, teacher, owner or person in charge  of  a  school
 shall  permit any child to be admitted to such school, or to attend such
 school, in excess of fourteen days, without the certificate provided for
 in subdivision five of this section or some other acceptable evidence of
 the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphthe-
 ria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B,  pertussis,  tetanus,  and,  where
 applicable,  Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal disease,
 and pneumococcal disease; provided, however, such  fourteen  day  period
 may  be  extended to not more than thirty days for an individual student
 by the appropriate principal, teacher, owner or other person  in  charge
 where  such  student  is  transferring from out-of-state or from another
 country and can show a good faith effort to get  the  necessary  certif-
 ication or other evidence of immunization OR WHERE THE PARENT, GUARDIAN,
 OR  ANY  OTHER  PERSON IN PARENTAL RELATIONSHIP TO SUCH CHILD CAN DEMON-
 STRATE THAT A CHILD HAS RECEIVED AT LEAST THE FIRST DOSE IN EACH IMMUNI-
 ZATION SERIES REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION AND HAS AGE APPROPRIATE  APPOINT-
 MENTS  SCHEDULED  TO  COMPLETE  THE IMMUNIZATION SERIES ACCORDING TO THE
 ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IMMUNIZATION  PRACTICES  RECOMMENDED  IMMUNIZATION
 SCHEDULES FOR PERSONS AGED 0 THROUGH 18 YEARS.
   (b)  A parent, a guardian or any other person in parental relationship
 to a child denied school entrance or attendance may appeal  by  petition
 to  the  commissioner  of education in accordance with the provisions of
 section three hundred ten of the education law.
   § 3. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 5 of  section  2168  of  the  public
 health law, as amended by chapter 154 of the laws of 2013, is amended to
 read as follows:
   (f)  The  immunization  status  of  children exempt from immunizations
 pursuant to subdivision eight of section twenty-one  hundred  sixty-four
 of  this  title [and a parent claiming exemption pursuant to subdivision
 nine of section twenty-one hundred sixty-four of this  title]  shall  be
 reported by the health care provider.
   §  4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
 ments to subdivision 7 of section 2164 of the public health law made  by
 section  two  of  this  act shall expire and be deemed repealed June 30,
 2020.