What's happening
This bill creates a working group to review, coordinate, and recommend strategies for Lyme and tick-borne disease prevention, treatment, and reporting in New York.
Why it matters
Brings together a diverse group of experts and officials. including doctors, scientists, mental health practitioners, insurance reps, and advocates—to ensure a broad, multi-disciplinary approach to Lyme and tick-borne disease issues.
Aims to improve care and prevention statewide. by reviewing current practices and recommending stronger interagency and intergovernmental collaborations, which could lead to more consistent and effective public health responses.
Could influence data collection and reporting requirements. for healthcare providers, potentially leading to more accurate understanding of disease prevalence and improved tracking of outbreaks.
Allows the group to operate even if some appointments are delayed. , ensuring that work on urgent health issues isn’t stalled by bureaucratic holdups.
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Who cares
Patients with Lyme or other tick-borne diseases
The working group would recommend improvements in care for patients and suspected patients, particularly those in endemic areas of the state.
Health care providers and health insurers
The working group would include medical practitioners and an insurance industry representative while reviewing diagnosis and treatment practices and recommending data collection and reporting requirements.
State agencies and county health departments
The health commissioner would chair the working group, which would recommend interagency and county-level collaborations on prevention, reporting and combating disease spread.
Tick-borne disease advocacy organizations
The working group would reserve a seat for an advocacy representative and issue findings and recommendations to the governor and legislative leaders.
Headline styles
Create Tick Disease Task Force
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
14 Co-sponsors
2 Multi-sponsors
History
- Substituted by S7170A
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.408
- Rules report cal.408
- Reported
- Reported referred to rules
- Reported referred to ways and means
- Print number 8900a
- Amend and recommit to governmental operations
- Referred to governmental operations
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.
Create Tick Disease Task Force
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Susan Serino
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8900--A
IN ASSEMBLY
January 5, 2018
Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER, LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a Lyme and tick-borne diseases working group
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 45-B to read as follows:
ARTICLE 45-B
LYME AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES WORKING GROUP Section 958. Lyme and tick-borne diseases working group.
§ 958. Lyme and tick-borne diseases working group. 1. There is hereby created in the executive department a Lyme and tick-borne diseases working group consisting of the:
(a) commissioner of health;
(b) commissioner of the office of mental health;
(c) commissioner of environmental conservation;
(d) superintendent of financial services, who shall serve ex officio and who may designate representatives to act on their behalf; and
(e) six additional members to be appointed by the governor.
2. The governor shall also appoint eight members to the working group on the recommendation of the legislative leaders as follows:
(a) the temporary president of the senate shall recommend three members;
(b) the speaker of the assembly shall recommend three members;
(c) the minority leader of the senate shall recommend one member; and
(d) the minority leader of the assembly shall recommend one member.
3. Members appointed to the working group shall include, but not be limited to, at least one of each of the following, each of whom must have experience working with issues related to Lyme and tick-borne diseases:
(a) an infectious disease specialist;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13892-06-8
A. 8900--A 2
(b) a general practitioner;
(c) a mental health practitioner;
(d) an entomologist;
(e) an epidemiologist;
(f) a representative of health insurance providers; and
(g) a representative of a tick-borne disease advocacy organization.
4. The commissioner of health shall serve, ex officio, as the chair of the working group, and the governor shall designate the vice chair of the working group. In appointing members of the working group, appointing authorities shall ensure that such members, as a group, represent diverse scientific perspectives relevant to the duties of the working group. The members of the working group, except those who serve ex officio, shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties under this article but shall receive no additional compensation for services rendered pursuant to this article.
5. The working group, on call of the chair, shall meet at least twice each year and at such other times as may be necessary. The working group may establish quorum requirements and other rules and procedures regarding conduct of its meetings and other affairs.
6. The working group shall have the following powers and responsibilities:
(a) review current best practices for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Lyme and tick-borne diseases, as well as any reports or recommendations from the twenty-first century workgroup for disease elimination and reduction, pursuant to section two hundred sixty-six of the public health law;
(b) provide recommendations including, but not limited to:
(i) improvements to the delivery of care for patients and suspected patients of Lyme and tick-borne diseases, particularly those from endemic areas of the state;
(ii) collaborations among county departments of health to promote effective strategies to combat Lyme and tick-borne diseases, including best practices for prevention and reporting;
(iii) interagency collaborations to streamline state efforts to combat the spread of Lyme and tick-borne diseases;
(iv) identifying opportunities to collaborate with the federal government, non-profit entities, or private organizations on projects addressing these diseases;
(v) data collection and reporting requirements of Lyme and tick-borne disease, including but not limited to, those for healthcare providers; and
(vi) any other regulations or guidelines concerning Lyme and tickborne diseases; and
(c) prepare and issue a report on the working group's findings and recommendations by May first, two thousand nineteen to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.
7. If any appointments to the working group are not made by April fifteenth, two thousand nineteen, then the working group may proceed to meet and fulfill its responsibilities, pursuant to paragraphs two and three of this section, without such appointees.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
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.