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Who cares
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Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to transportation
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Provides that individuals must opt out of organ donation
In Assembly Committee · Transportation · Sponsor Richard Brodsky
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the public health law, in relation to organ donation
Purpose
The purpose of this legislation is to change existing law so that individuals who apply for a New York State Drivers License can "Opt-Out" of being an organ donor rather can register into the program as is the case under current law. Under this law, all persons are considered members of the New York State Organ and Tissue Registry unless they state otherwise.
Summary of provisions
This bill would amend provisions of traffic law and public health law to:
§ 1 Amend license application procedures to effectively reverse the method by which new licensees register to become an Organ Donor. Under the new law, licensees have to decline to be enrolled in the New York State Organ and Tissue Registry or else they will be automatically enrolled.
§2 Amend public health law to state the same in regards to the automatic registration into the New York State Organ and Tissue Registry unless there is an expressed intention to do otherwise.
Justification
According to the national organization, Donate Life America, New York State's exceptionally low number of registered organ donors (13% of people 18 and older) ranks 47th in the United States and is far behind the national average of 37%. Furthermore, the number of New Yorkers currently enrolled in the New York State Organ and Tissue Registry puts New York in last place for those states reporting with donor registries.
While New York is languishing at or near the bottom based on most accepted measures, approximately 10,000 New Yorkers are on the national waiting list for organs in literally a "life-and-death" waiting game.
This bill will make New York State the first in the nation to adopt what is widely considered the full and complete "Presumed Consent" model for organ donation. This system is widely implemented in twenty-four nations throughout the world, and has been approved in principle by many of the nation's leading transplant doctors.
The current failed New York system requires individuals to "opt-in" (sign-up) on a registry to become an organ donor. Presumed consent is, quite simply, a system where the presumption is that individuals want to donate organs after their death. This will potentially increase the number of available donors and save countless lives over time. The lasting positive impact of a presumed consent system is of incalculable value.
The legislation respects the wishes of those who have personal or religious reasons for not being members of the registry by providing a legal mechanism to "opt-out" (exclude themselves) from the program for whatever their reasons may be without any questions being asked.
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.