What's happening
This bill creates a Minority Coordinating Council on Asthmatic Affairs to address and improve asthma prevention and treatment for minorities in New York.
Why it matters
Targets persistent health disparities. The bill acknowledges that African-American and Hispanic communities—especially children—bear a disproportionate burden of asthma, often due to systemic barriers like limited access to care, language differences, and socioeconomic challenges. The Council aims to directly address these inequities.
Brings together regional and expert voices. By requiring council members to represent regions with significant minority populations and include healthcare professionals with expertise in asthma and public health funding, the council is structured to ensure relevant, on-the-ground perspectives inform policy and outreach.
Focuses on actionable solutions and accountability. The Council’s mandate includes not only assessing risk factors and barriers but also developing concrete action steps and launching a statewide awareness campaign, ensuring the group moves beyond study to tangible impact.
Establishes ongoing oversight and reporting. With an annual report to the governor and legislature on program outcomes and emerging trends, the council creates a mechanism for continuous evaluation and adjustment of asthma-related policies for minority populations.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Create Asthma Council for Minorities
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
36 Multi-sponsors
- Thomas Abinanti
- Michael Benedetto
- Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn
- Michael Blake
- David Buchwald
- Vivian Cook
- Marcos Crespo
- Maritza Davila
- Erik Dilan
- Jeffrey Dinowitz
- Sandy Galef
- Aileen Gunther
- Andrew Hevesi
- Earlene Hooper
- Alicia Hyndman
- Ellen C. Jaffee
- Kimberly Jean-Pierre
- Latoya Joyner
- Michael G. Miller
- Walter T. Mosley
- Felix Ortiz
- Steven Otis
- Amy Paulin
- Crystal Peoples-Stokes
- N. Nick Perry
- Victor M. Pichardo
- J. Gary Pretlow
- Jose Rivera
- Robert J. Rodriguez
- Luis R. Sepúlveda
- Jo Anne Simon
- Phil Steck
- Matthew Titone
- Michele Titus
- Latrice Walker
- David Weprin
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7998
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 25, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ARROYO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABINAN- TI, BENEDETTO, BICHOTTE, BLAKE, BUCHWALD, COOK, CRESPO, DAVILA, DILAN, DINOWITZ, FARRELL, GALEF, GUNTHER, HEVESI, HOOPER, HYNDMAN, JAFFEE, JEAN-PIERRE, JOYNER, LOPEZ, M. G. MILLER, MOSLEY, ORTIZ, OTIS, PAULIN, PEOPLES-STOKES, PERRY, PICHARDO, PRETLOW, RIVERA, RODRIGUEZ, SEPULVE- DA, SIMON, STECK, TITONE, TITUS, WALKER, WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to establish a Minority Coordinating Council on Asthmatic Affairs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Lydia Soto law".
§ 2. Legislative findings and intent. According to the American Lung Association, there are over 1.6 million New Yorkers with asthma, with over 380,000 of them being children. The annual cost of asthma is estimated to be nearly 18 billion dollars. Access to health care for ethnic minorities is often hampered by socio-economic disparities, shortages of primary care physicians in minority communities, language and literacy barriers, and cultural beliefs about the role and usefulness of medicines. There have emerged clear disparities in the burden and treatment of asthma in the communities of ethnic minorities. The burden of asthma falls disproportionately on the African-American and Hispanic populations, and especially on children of these ethnic minorities. Therefore, it is the intent of this legislature to create a coordinating council to address these issues and to improve awareness and management of asthma prevention and treatment for minorities in this state.
§ 3. The commissioner of health shall establish a Minority Coordinating Council on Asthmatic Affairs. The commissioner shall appoint as many members as he or she determines appropriate. Such members shall be representative of those regions of the state with significant minority populations and shall include health care professionals with knowledge
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02377-01-7
A. 7998 2
and experience in the prevention and treatment of asthma and in the areas of public health care funding. The council shall be tasked with: (a) assessing the asthma risk factors for the minority citizens of this state, its counties and regions; (b) identifying the existing barriers to quality asthma treatment and care among minorities; (c) developing action steps for addressing care issues; and (d) launching a state-wide asthma awareness campaign to educate citizens about the disease, its symptoms, and the ability to better manage asthma through prevention and treatment. The council shall deliver an annual report addressing various asthma program successes, new trends, data and issues surrounding minority populations suffering from asthma to the governor and the legislature beginning September 1, 2021, and annually thereafter.
§ 4. 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.