S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  410--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BIAGGI -- read twice and ordered printed, 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 establish a Minority Coordinating Council on Asthmatic Affairs
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "Lydia Soto law".
   §  2.  Legislative findings and intent. According to the American Lung
 Association, there are over 1.6 million New Yorkers  with  asthma,  with
 over  380,000 of them being children. The annual cost of asthma is esti-
 mated to be nearly 18 billion dollars. Access to health care for  ethnic
 minorities is often hampered by socio-economic disparities, shortages of
 primary  care  physicians in minority communities, language and literacy
 barriers, and cultural beliefs about the role and  usefulness  of  medi-
 cines.  There have emerged clear disparities in the burden and treatment
 of asthma in the communities of ethnic minorities. The burden of  asthma
 falls  disproportionately  on  the  African-American  and Hispanic popu-
 lations, and especially on children of these ethnic  minorities.  There-
 fore,  it  is  the  intent  of this legislature to create a coordinating
 council to address these issues and to improve awareness and  management
 of asthma prevention and treatment for minorities in this state.
   §  3. The commissioner of health shall establish a Minority Coordinat-
 ing Council on Asthmatic Affairs. Members of the council  shall  include
 the commissioners of health, environmental conservation, office of chil-
 dren  and  family  services,  and  the division of housing and community
 renewal or their designees. The council shall also  include,  as  deter-
 mined  by  the  commissioner  of health, representatives of minority and
 low-income communities, health care  professionals  with  knowledge  and
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02970-02-1

 S. 410--A                           2
 
 experience  in  the  prevention  and  treatment of asthma, and community
 groups that advocate for environmental justice issues. The council shall
 be tasked with:  (a) assessing the asthma risk factors for the  minority
 residents  of this state, broken down by county and regions; (b) identi-
 fying existing barriers to  quality  asthma  treatment  and  care  among
 racial and ethnic minorities; (c) developing evidence-based intervention
 strategies  for addressing the lack of health care in these communities;
 and (d) launching a state-wide  asthma  awareness  campaign  to  educate
 citizens  about  the  disease,  its  symptoms, and the ability to better
 manage asthma through prevention and treatment. The council shall deliv-
 er an annual report addressing various  asthma  program  successes,  new
 trends,  data and issues surrounding minority populations suffering from
 asthma to the governor and the legislature beginning September 1,  2025,
 and annually thereafter.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.