What's happening
This bill requires healthcare practitioners to report pesticide poisonings and related lab results within 24 hours and mandates state investigation and annual reporting, while protecting patient confidentiality unless waived.
Why it matters
Faster response to pesticide exposure. By requiring healthcare practitioners to report pesticide poisonings and abnormal lab results within 24 hours, the bill aims to enable quicker state intervention, which could help prevent further harm to individuals and communities.
Improved tracking and oversight. Mandating both immediate investigation and annual public reporting (with personal details redacted unless waived) creates a system that may better identify patterns, sources, or hotspots of pesticide exposure, informing public health policy and regulatory action.
Balance of privacy and public health. The law requires that personal information about exposed individuals remains confidential unless the patient explicitly waives this right, addressing concerns about stigma or personal repercussions while still allowing for comprehensive data collection.
Potential for prevention and accountability. Regular, detailed reporting to lawmakers and health/environmental agencies could drive policy changes or enforcement actions, potentially leading to safer pesticide practices and improved protections for workers and communities at risk.
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Who cares
Licensed or certified health care practitioners
Those attending patients with confirmed or suspected pesticide poisoning or specified abnormal laboratory results would have to report within 24 hours to the health and environmental conservation commissioners.
Patients exposed to pesticides
Practitioners would have to notify them of disclosure to the Department of Environmental Conservation, while their names, addresses and telephone numbers would remain confidential unless they waive that protection.
Department of Environmental Conservation
The agency would have to immediately investigate reports received from the Department of Health and report investigation results annually to designated legislative leaders, committee chairs and the health commissioner.
Pesticide applicators
Reports would have to identify the applicator who applied or otherwise handled the pesticide, if applicable, along with the exposure location and the pesticide identified or suspected.
Headline styles
Report Pesticide Poisoning Cases
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
4 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4596
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 4, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, GALEF, GLICK, ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the environmental conservation law, in relation to reporting of pesticide poisonings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The opening paragraph of paragraph (t) of subdivision 5 of section 225 of the public health law is designated subparagraph (i) and a new subparagraph (ii) is added to read as follows:
(ii) notwithstanding the requirements of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, every health care practitioner licensed or certified under title eight of the education law acting within his or her lawful scope of practice in attendance with a person with confirmed or suspected pesticide poisoning, or clinical laboratory test results which show abnormally depressed cholinesterase levels and abnormally elevated tissue levels of pesticides, shall report such occurrence to the commissioner and the commissioner of environmental conservation within twenty-four hours, including the name, address and telephone number of the person exposed to pesticides; the nature of the pesticide exposure; the location where the exposure occurred; the name of the pesticide applicator, if applicable, who applied or otherwise handled the pesticide; and the pesticide identified or suspected in the pesticide poisoning or test results. Every person with confirmed or suspected pesticide poisoning or clinical laboratory test results which show abnormally depressed cholinesterase levels and abnormally elevated tissue levels of pesticides shall be informed by the health care practitioner licensed or certified under title eight of the education law acting within his or her lawful scope of practice, that all information and data from the diagnosis or test results will be disclosed to the department of environmental conservation. Such person shall be informed that their name, address and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09050-01-9
A. 4596 2
telephone number will be kept confidential, except that he or she may waive this confidentiality if they wish. Confidentiality of the person's name, address and telephone number shall be the shared responsibility of the department and the department of environmental conservation, except if the person waives this right.
§ 2. Section 71-2903 of the environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
3. The commissioner, or any authorized designee of the commissioner, shall immediately investigate all reports from the department of health, pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (t) of subdivision five of section two hundred twenty-five of the public health law, of confirmed or suspected pesticide poisoning or clinical laboratory test results which show abnormal depressed cholinesterase levels and abnormal elevated tissue levels of pesticides. The commissioner shall annually report in detail the results of such investigations of confirmed or suspected incidence of pesticide poisoning and results of all clinical laboratory test results which show abnormally depressed cholinesterase levels and abnormally elevated tissue levels of pesticides, excluding only the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the persons exposed to pesticides, unless this right to confidentiality has been waived, to the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, the chairs of the senate and assembly environmental conservation and health committees and the commissioner of health by January thirtieth for the previous calendar year. All information and data from completed investigations shall be available to the public through the freedom of information law, except as such information is required to be kept confidential and that confidentiality has not been waived.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth 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.