NY State Senate Bill 2023-S1699

Senate Bill S1699

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to requiring health care facilities to report incidents of a sexual offense to the departments of both health and education

download bill text pdf

Current 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 03, 2024	referred to health
Jan 13, 2023	referred to health

co-Sponsors

2023-S1699 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2991
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2803-e, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S5124, A5474
2019-2020: S1406, A1123
2021-2022: S2277, A5011

2023-S1699 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires health care facilities to report incidents of a sexual offense to the departments of health and education.

2023-S1699 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1699

SPONSOR: HELMING
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to reporting inci-
dents of possible professional misconduct

 
PURPOSE:

To enact Clara's Law requiring hospitals and healthcare facilities to
report incidents of a sexual offense to the State Departments of Health
and Education.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Establishes the title "Clara's Law."

Section 2: Amends subdivision 1 of section 2803-e of the Public Health
Law by adding a new paragraph (c) to require hospitals and healthcare
facilities to report within 30 days all allegations of a sexual offense
by a health care practitioner which involves a patient.

Section 3: Amends subdivision 2 of section 2803-e of the Public Health
Law to require reports to be made to both the Department of Health and
the Education Department and defines "health care practitioner."

Section 4: Provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This legislation is named after the late Clara Mae Bowman, who was sexu-
ally abused by an Intensive care unit nurse at a Florida hospital in
2006. Her abuser resigned from the hospital amid the allegations and
went to work at another hospital, where he later abused another patient.
That hospital was not aware of the allegations when they hired him. This
legislation is necessary to stop healthcare workers who have abused
patients from moving to other hospitals or healthcare facilities without
those facilities knowing their background.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: S.2277 referred to Health/A.5011 referred to Health

2019-2020: S.1406 referred to Health/A.1123 held in Health

2018:S.5124 referred to Health/A.5474 held in Health

2017: S.5124 reported from Health to Higher Education/A.5474 referred to
Health

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2023-S1699 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1699
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 13, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HELMING -- 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  reporting  inci-
   dents of possible professional misconduct
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Clara's Law".
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 2803-e of  the  public  health  law,  as
 added  by  chapter  866  of the laws of 1980, is amended by adding a new
 paragraph (c) to read as follows:
   (C) HOSPITALS AND OTHER FACILITIES APPROVED PURSUANT TO  THIS  ARTICLE
 SHALL  MAKE  A REPORT OR CAUSE A REPORT TO BE MADE WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF
 EVERY SEPARATE ALLEGATION OF A SEXUAL OFFENSE, AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE ONE
 HUNDRED THIRTY OF THE PENAL LAW, BY A  HEALTH  CARE  PRACTITIONER  WHICH
 INVOLVES A PATIENT.
   §  3.  Subdivision  2  of  section 2803-e of the public health law, as
 amended by chapter 542 of the laws of 2000, is amended and a new  subdi-
 vision 4 is added to read as follows:
   2.  Reports  of possible professional misconduct made pursuant to this
 section shall be made  in  writing  to  the  education  department  with
 respect  to  all  individuals  licensed  pursuant  to title eight of the
 education law except that such reports shall be made to  the  department
 of health in the case of physicians, physician's assistants and special-
 ist's assistants. REPORTS FOR ALL ALLEGATIONS OF A SEXUAL OFFENSE PURSU-
 ANT  TO PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE MADE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
 HEALTH IN ADDITION TO THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WITH RESPECT TO ALL INDI-
 VIDUALS LICENSED PURSUANT TO TITLE EIGHT OF THE EDUCATION  LAW.  Written
 reports shall include the following information:
   (a) name, address, profession and license number of the individual;
   (b)  a  description  of the action taken by the hospital including the
 reason for the action and the date thereof, or the nature of the  action
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04919-01-3

 S. 1699                             2
 
 or  conduct  which  led  to  the resignation or withdrawal, and the date
 thereof, stated with sufficient specificity to allow a reasonable person
 to understand which of the reasons enumerated in subdivision one of this
 section  led  to  the action of the hospital or the resignation or with-
 drawal of the individual, and, if the reason was an act or  omission  of
 the individual, the particular act or omission;
   (c) any criminal conviction of which the hospital has knowledge; and
   (d)  such other information as the education department or the depart-
 ment of health shall require.
   4. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION THE TERM  "HEALTH  CARE  PRACTITIONER"
 SHALL MEAN A PERSON LICENSED, CERTIFIED OR OTHERWISE AUTHORIZED TO PRAC-
 TICE UNDER TITLE EIGHT OF THE EDUCATION LAW.
   §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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.

Senate Bill S1699

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Pamela Helming