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A7203Assembly2017-2018 SessionSame asS4741

Create Rural Health Council

Official title

“Establishes the rural health council”

Sponsor Billy JonesAD-115+4 co-sponsorsAffects Health
Status
Signed by Governor
Impact
4/10
Low
Outcome
Signed into law

Bill progress

Signed into law

What's happening

This bill establishes a 21-member Rural Health Council to advise on rural health care issues, with members appointed by state leaders.

Why it matters

  1. Ensures rural perspectives are included in health policy. The council must have members representing a wide range of rural health care stakeholders, including providers, experts in clinical and administrative delivery, public health, behavioral health, and health workforce education. This broad representation aims to make rural health policy more responsive to real-world needs.

  2. Creates formal accountability and transparency. The council is required to webcast all meetings live and archive them for public access, ensuring that rural health policy discussions are visible and accountable to the public and stakeholders in rural communities.

  3. Integrates rural health with economic planning. By mandating annual reports to regional economic development councils on the status of the rural health workforce, the bill directly links rural health care challenges to regional economic planning, potentially influencing workforce development and funding priorities.

  4. Establishes an ongoing, structured advisory role. The council will advise on all aspects of rural health care—including the impact of new laws, regulations, and reimbursement policies—and act as an advocate and liaison for rural health issues, ensuring ongoing input rather than one-off consultation.

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Who cares

  • Rural health care providers

    The council would include provider representatives and advise the health commissioner on rural health care delivery, regulation and reimbursement policies.

  • Health commissioner and department staff

    The council would advise the commissioner, while the department would have to webcast and archive its meetings.

  • Regional economic development councils

    They would receive reports at least annually on the health care workforce supply in their regions.

  • Governor and legislative leaders

    They would share appointment authority over the council’s 21 members, with seven appointed by the governor and 14 by legislative leaders.

Headline styles

Create Rural Health Council

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Billy Jones

Assembly Member · Assembly District 115

History

  1. Approval memo.21
  2. Signed chap.419
  3. Delivered to governor
  4. Returned to assembly
  5. Passed senateVote 63–0
  6. 3rd reading cal.1145
  7. Substituted for S4741
  8. Referred to rules
  9. Delivered to senate
  10. Passed assembly
  11. Ordered to third reading rules cal.155
  12. Rules report cal.155
Show 4 earlier actions
  1. Reported
  2. Reported referred to rules
  3. Reported referred to ways and means
  4. Referred to health

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.

S4741Senate

Create Rural Health Council

Senate Floor Calendar · Sponsor Kemp Hannon

Impact 7 · Significant0% to pass

Full text

2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

7203

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

April 12, 2017

Introduced by M. of A. JONES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health

AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing a rural health council

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 235 of the public health law, as added by chapter 630 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read as follows:

4. "Rural health council" shall mean [that advisory body to the commissioner, created July, nineteen hundred eighty-eight, with members appointed by the governor] the rural health council established pursuant to section two hundred thirty-six-b of this title.

§ 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 236-b to read as follows:

§ 236-b. Rural health council. 1. There shall be established within the office a rural health council to be composed of twenty-one members who shall be appointed as follows:

a. five members by the temporary president of the senate;

b. two members by the minority leader of the senate;

c. five members by the speaker of the assembly;

d. two members by the minority leader of the assembly; and

e. seven members by the governor.

Vacancies in the membership of such council shall be filled by the appropriate appointing authority. The rural health council shall select a chairperson from among its members. The members of the council shall be reflective of the state's rural areas, as defined in subdivision seven of section four hundred eighty-one of the executive law, and shall include representatives of health care providers that comprise the health care delivery system in the state's rural areas, individuals with expertise in clinical and administrative aspects of health care delivery, health care financing and reimbursement, health care regulation,

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD10087-03-7

A. 7203 2

public health, health planning, health workforce education, and behavioral health.

2. The rural health council shall be responsible for advising the commissioner with respect to all aspects of rural health care and rural health care delivery including, but not limited to, the impact of proposed programs, statutes, regulations and health care reimbursement policies. The rural health council shall also assist the office with its responsibilities as delineated in section two hundred thirty-six of this title; contribute to the biennial report required pursuant to section two hundred thirty-seven of this title, and act as liaison and advocate on rural health matters.

3. At least annually the rural health council shall, in conjunction with the office, submit a report to the regional economic development councils on the status of the health care workforce supply in their respective regions.

4. Staff support for the rural health council shall be provided for by the office as provided for in section two hundred thirty-six of this title.

5. The rural health council shall meet as frequently as its business may require, but not less than two times a year. Meetings may be called by the chairman or at the request of the commissioner.

6. The entirety of each meeting of the rural health council shall be live webcast to the public on the department's website, and archived on the department's website, for a period of no less than two years, within twenty-four hours of the adjournment of the last meeting. The department shall provide notice to the public, via the department's website, of the availability of the live webcast of each such meeting.

7. The members of the rural health council shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties hereunder.

§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.