NY State Senate Bill 2021-S601

Senate Bill S601

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Relates to the definition of an indoor area; and to repealing certain provisions of the public health law relating thereto

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 06, 2021	referred to health

2021-S601 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3648
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1399-n, rpld §1399-x, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S8338, A10441
2023-2024: S4816, A1132

2021-S601 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the definition of an indoor area.

2021-S601 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S601

SPONSOR: BENJAMIN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the definition of
an indoor area; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating
thereto

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation clarifies the definition of indoor spaces under the
Clean Indoor Air Act.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one amends section 1399-n of the public health law by adding a
new subdivision 12 to clarify the definition of an indoor area for the
purposes of limiting areas where tobacco smoking is permitted.

Section two repeals section 1399-x of the public health law.

Section three establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Clean Indoor Air Act prohibits smoking and vaping in indoor spaces,
including bars, restaurants, places of employment and other enclosed
areas. Originally enacted in 1989, this law has protected New Yorkers
from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, and since 2017, the harms
associated with vaping aerosols. After the Clean Indoor Air Act was
expanded in 2003, researchers saw approximately 3,800 fewer hospital
admissions for heart attacks in the first year alone, saving an esti-
mated $56 million in health care costs.

Secondhand smoke from tobacco products contains thousands of chemicals
and is known to cause various types of cancer and other diseases.  Simi-
larly, the aerosols emitted from vaping products contain carcinogens and
toxic chemicals and can endanger one's health when exposed in an
enclosed space. However, some businesses have designed areas to be
considered outdoor spaces, in which smoking and vaping would be permit-
ted, despite being primarily enclosed. In order to protect public
health, outdoor spaces must provide adequate air flow for contaminants
to escape.

New York State continues to see 28,000 smoking-related deaths each year;
more than 750,000 adults statewide are living with a smoking-related
illness. This legislation will clarify the definition of indoor area to
ensure that the intent of the Clean Indoor Air Act is not compromised
and the health of New Yorkers is not put at risk.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: S.8338/A10441

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S601 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    601
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. BENJAMIN -- 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 definition  of
   an  indoor area; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating
   thereto

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  1399-n  of  the  public health law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 12 to read as follows:
   12. "INDOOR AREA" MEANS ANY AREA WITH A FULL OR PARTIAL ROOF COVERING,
 INCLUDING AN AREA WITH A ROOF OR CEILING IN PLACE, WHICH MAY BE A  FIXED
 OR  MOVABLE  ROOF  OR  CEILING,  WHERE THE TOTAL ACTUAL AREA OF THE WALL
 SURFACES EXCEEDS SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE TOTAL NOTIONAL  WALL  AREA,
 AND  WHICH  ALLOW THE FREE FLOW OF AIR WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF MECHAN-
 ICAL VENTILATION, AS DEFINED BY THE COMMISSIONER. THE  COMMISSIONER  MAY
 DETERMINE AND ENFORCE A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL ACTUAL AREA TO NOTION-
 AL  WALL  AREA, AS DEEMED NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE
 INTENT OF THIS ARTICLE, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE  MAXIMUM  PERCENTAGE
 DETERMINED  IS  NOT  LOWER THAN FIFTY PERCENT OF THE TOTAL NOTIONAL WALL
 AREA. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH RULES  AND  REGULATIONS  AS
 ARE  NECESSARY TO DEFINE NOTIONAL WALL AREA, MECHANICAL VENTILATION, AND
 RELATED BUILDING SPECIFICATIONS NEEDED TO DETERMINE WHETHER A  STRUCTURE
 FALLS WITHIN THE DEFINITION OF INDOOR AREA.
   § 2. Section 1399-x of the public health law is REPEALED.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01028-01-1

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.