Requires the county health commissioner to notify certain individuals in the event of an emergency creating an imminent risk to public health and safety

BILL NUMBER:S1196

Title of bill

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to notifying local officials of the occurrence of certain emergency situations

Purpose

To require county health commissioners to notify appropriate local officials in the event of a health emergency. This bill is designed to facilitate the timely notice to county and local Officials so that they can put in place the appropriate emergency response as soon as possible.

Summary

Section 1 amends Section 352 of the Public Health Law by adding a new subdivision 7, to require that upon the occurrence of an emergency where an imminent imperilment to the public health and safety exists, the County Health Commissioner shall immediately notify, in addition to those individuals he or she would have otherwise notified, the chief executive officer of each municipality affected by the emergency; each member of the county's legislative body who represents the area affected by the emergency; and each member of the municipal legislative body who represents the area affected by the emergency; and where the emergency affects another county, the County Health Commissioner of the affected county or counties.

Justification

There are gaps in the notification procedures_ When there is an imminent threat to public health all appropriate officials need to be alerted so they can put in place the appropriate emergency response as soon as possible. The sooner the public is aware of the problem, the sooner they can take steps to protect themselves.

Legislative history

S 2754 / A535 of 2013 passed Assembly 2013 and 2014; S7358-A / A7121 of 2012 passed Assembly.

Fiscal impact

None

Effective date

Immediately