S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2178
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 23, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. DINOWITZ, STECK -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring  immuni-
   zation against COVID-19
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Section 2164 of the public health law, as amended by  chap-
 ter  401  of the laws of 2015, subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 35 of
 the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   §  2164.  Definitions;  immunization  against  poliomyelitis,   mumps,
 measles,  diphtheria,  rubella, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b
 (Hib), pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal  disease,
 [and] hepatitis B, AND COVID-19.  1. As used in this section, unless the
 context requires otherwise:
   a.  The  term "school" means and includes any public, private or paro-
 chial child caring center, day nursery, day care agency, nursery school,
 kindergarten, elementary, intermediate or secondary school.
   b. The term "child" shall mean and include any person between the ages
 of two months and eighteen years.
   c. The term "person in parental relation to a child"  shall  mean  and
 include  his  father  or  mother,  by  birth  or  adoption,  his legally
 appointed guardian, or his custodian. A person shall be regarded as  the
 custodian  of a child if he has assumed the charge and care of the child
 because the parents or legally appointed  guardian  of  the  minor  have
 died,  are  imprisoned,  are  mentally ill, or have been committed to an
 institution, or because they have abandoned or deserted  such  child  or
 are  living  outside the state or their whereabouts are unknown, or have
 designated the person pursuant to title fifteen-A of article five of the
 general obligations law as a person in parental relation to the child.
   d. The term "health practitioner" shall mean any person authorized  by
 law to administer an immunization.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01353-01-3
              

 A. 2178                             2
 
   2. a. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state shall
 have administered to such child an adequate dose or doses of an immuniz-
 ing  agent  against  poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella,
 varicella, Haemophilus influenzae  type  b  (Hib),  pertussis,  tetanus,
 pneumococcal  disease,  [and] hepatitis B, AND COVID-19, which meets the
 standards approved by the United States public health service  for  such
 biological  products, and which is approved by the department under such
 conditions as may be specified by the public health AND HEALTH  PLANNING
 council.
   b.  Every person in parental relation to a child in this state born on
 or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-four and entering  sixth
 grade  or a comparable age level special education program with an unas-
 signed grade on or after September first, two thousand seven, shall have
 administered to such child a booster immunization containing  diphtheria
 and tetanus toxoids, and an acellular pertussis vaccine, which meets the
 standards  approved  by the United States public health service for such
 biological products, and which is approved by the department under  such
 conditions  as may be specified by the public health AND HEALTH PLANNING
 council.
   c. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state entering
 or having entered seventh grade and twelfth grade or  a  comparable  age
 level  special  education  program  with an unassigned grade on or after
 September first, two thousand sixteen, shall have administered  to  such
 child an adequate dose or doses of immunizing agents against meningococ-
 cal  disease  as  recommended  by the advisory committee on immunization
 practices of the centers for disease control and prevention, which meets
 the standards approved by the United States public  health  service  for
 such  biological products, and which is approved by the department under
 such conditions as may be specified by  the  public  health  and  HEALTH
 planning council.
   3.  The  person  in  parental  relation  to any such child who has not
 previously received such immunization  shall  present  the  child  to  a
 health  practitioner  and request such health practitioner to administer
 the  necessary  immunization  against  poliomyelitis,  mumps,   measles,
 diphtheria,  Haemophilus  influenzae  type  b (Hib), rubella, varicella,
 pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal  disease,  [and]
 hepatitis  B,  AND  COVID-19,  as  provided  in  subdivision two of this
 section.
   4. If any person in parental relation to such child is unable  to  pay
 for  the  services  of  a private health practitioner, such person shall
 present such child to the health officer of  the  county  in  which  the
 child  resides,  who  shall then administer the immunizing agent without
 charge.
   5. The health  practitioner  who  administers  such  immunizing  agent
 against  poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, Haemophilus influen-
 zae type b (Hib), rubella, varicella, pertussis,  tetanus,  pneumococcal
 disease,  meningococcal  disease, [and] hepatitis B, AND COVID-19 to any
 such child shall give a certificate of such immunization to  the  person
 in parental relation to such child.
   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, COVID-19, and, where  applicable,  Haemophilus  influenzae  type  b
 (Hib),  meningococcal  disease, and pneumococcal disease, the principal,
 A. 2178                             3

 teacher, owner or person in charge  of  the  school  shall  inform  such
 person of the necessity to have the child immunized, that such immuniza-
 tion  may  be administered by any health practitioner, or that the child
 may  be  immunized  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 give notice that as a prerequisite to processing the  appli-
 cation 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 of this section 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, COVID-19  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
 certification or other evidence of immunization.
   (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.
   8. If any physician licensed to practice medicine in this state certi-
 fies that such immunization may be detrimental to a child's health,  the
 requirements  of this section shall be inapplicable until such immuniza-
 tion is found no longer to be detrimental to the child's health.
   8-a. Whenever a child has been  refused  admission  to,  or  continued
 attendance  at,  a  school  as provided for in subdivision seven of this
 section because there exists no certificate provided for in  subdivision
 five of this section or other acceptable evidence of the child's immuni-
 zation against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, vari-
 cella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, COVID-19, and, where applicable,
 Haemophilus  influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal disease, and pneumo-
 coccal disease, the principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of the
 school shall:
   a. forward a report of such exclusion and the name and address of such
 child to the local health  authority  and  to  the  person  in  parental
 relation to the child together with a notification of the responsibility
 of  such  person  under  subdivision  two  of this section and a form of
 consent as prescribed by regulation of the commissioner, and
   b. provide, with the  cooperation  of  the  appropriate  local  health
 authority,  for  a time and place at which an immunizing agent or agents
 shall be administered, as required by subdivision two of  this  section,
 to a child for whom a consent has been obtained. Upon failure of a local
 health authority to cooperate in arranging for a time and place at which
 an  immunizing  agent  or  agents  shall  be administered as required by
 A. 2178                             4
 
 subdivision two of this section, the commissioner shall arrange for such
 administration and may recover the cost thereof from the amount of state
 aid to which the local health authority would otherwise be entitled.
   10.  The  commissioner  may  adopt  and amend rules and regulations to
 effectuate the provisions and purposes of this section.
   11. Every school shall annually provide  the  commissioner,  on  forms
 provided  by  the  commissioner, a summary regarding compliance with the
 provisions of this section.
   § 2.  Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of  section  613  of  the  public
 health law, as amended by section 24 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws
 of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   (a)  The  commissioner  shall develop and supervise the execution of a
 program of immunization, surveillance and testing, to raise to the high-
 est reasonable level the immunity of the children of the  state  against
 communicable  diseases including, but not limited to, influenza, poliom-
 yelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, haemophilus influenzae type  b  (Hib),
 diphtheria,  pertussis, tetanus, COVID-19, varicella, hepatitis B, pneu-
 mococcal disease, and the  immunity  of  adults  of  the  state  against
 diseases  identified  by  the commissioner, including but not limited to
 influenza, smallpox, hepatitis and such other diseases  as  the  commis-
 sioner  may  designate through regulation.   Municipalities in the state
 shall maintain local programs of immunization to raise the  immunity  of
 the  children  and adults of each municipality to the highest reasonable
 level, in accordance with an application for state aid submitted by  the
 municipality  and  approved  by  the  commissioner.  Such programs shall
 include assurance of provision of vaccine, serological testing of  indi-
 viduals  and  educational  efforts  to  inform health care providers and
 target populations or their parents, if they are minors,  of  the  facts
 relative  to  these  diseases  and immunizations to prevent their occur-
 rence.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  the  date
 upon  which  an  immunizing  agent against COVID-19 for which the United
 States Food and Drug Administration has issued a  biologics  license  is
 recommended  by  majority vote of the advisory committee on immunization
 practices of the Centers for Disease Control  and  Prevention;  provided
 that the commissioner of health shall notify the legislative bill draft-
 ing commission upon the occurrence of both such approval and such recom-
 mendation  in  order  that  the  commission may maintain an accurate and
 timely effective data base of the official text of the laws of the state
 of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of section  44
 of  the  legislative  law  and  section 70-b of the public officers law.
 Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any  rule
 or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
 tive  date  are  authorized  to  be made and completed on or before such
 date.