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Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S912
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the permitting requirements for children's camps; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
Purpose
To require all single-purpose day camps to obtain a permit in order to operate a children's camp and to require that all camps obtain liability insurance in order to provide additional protection to children attending camps.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends section 1391 of the public health law to include single-purpose camps in the declaration of public policy.
Section 2 amends section 1392 to include a new subdivision 6 which provides a definition for single-purpose day camps.
Section 3 removes section 1392-a.
Section 4 amends section 1393 to include single-purpose day camps. Subdivision 4 is amended to increase the permit fee for for-profit camps. Subdivision 5 is amended to address changes to the enrollment application form requirements. All camps are required to purchase liability insurance.
Section 5 adds a new section 1393-a. Subdivision 1 establishes inspection requirements for each type of camp. Subdivision 2 gives DOH the discretion to waive one annual inspection for certain types of camps.
Section 6 amends section 1394 to include single-purpose day camps.
Section 7 amends section 1394-a, by requiring all camps to check the sex offender registry.
Section 8 amends section 1395 to extend the rules regarding violations and temporary restraining order to single-purpose day camps.
Section 9 provides that this act shall take effect 1 year after it shall have become a law.
Justification
Currently, only camps that have two or more activities, at least one of which is a non-passive recreational activity with significant risk of injury, are subject to Department of Health (DOH) regulation. All camps under the DOH's purview are required to be permitted before they may open. Each camp must be inspected twice and meet stringent safety standards including staff screening through the sex offender registry, specific age-appropriate Camper to counselor ratios, minimum age for counselors, fire drills and camp safety plans.
Single-purpose day camps, including those engaging in potentially dangerous non-passive recreational activities (such as a gymnastics camps), are currently exempt from all DOH regulation. Thus, they do not have to meet any of the safety standards put in place to protect children attending camps. These exemptions expose all children attending single-purpose camps to significant and unnecessary risks. This bill will close the loophole by requiring all camps to obtain a permit before beginning operations. Additionally, all camps will be required to obtain liability insurance to help protect all members of the camping community.
Legislative history
S.1015D of 2014: Referred to Health
Fiscal implications
Revenue generated from issuing permits will increase significantly due to an increase in the number of camps required to obtain a permit and an increase in permit fees. Additionally, the number of annual inspections for camps will be commensurate to the type of camp and level of risk based on the services provided. The additional revenue combined with a reduction in the number of required inspections for day camps should more than offset the increase in inspection responsibilities for the Department of Health.
Effective date
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.