What's happening
This bill requires follow-up lead screenings for children with elevated blood lead levels and mandates timely environmental investigations for high results.
Why it matters
Ensures ongoing medical oversight for at-risk children. By requiring primary care providers to recommend follow-up blood lead screenings for children with moderately elevated lead levels (15–24.99 µg/dL), the bill aims to catch and address rising or persistent lead exposure before it causes more harm.
Mandates prompt government action for severe cases. When a child's blood lead level exceeds 25 µg/dL, the law holds the Department of Health accountable for ensuring that environmental investigations are actually conducted—closing enforcement gaps and reducing the risk of long-term exposure.
Addresses bureaucratic delays and accountability. If environmental investigations are not completed within 180 days, the Department is required to step in and finish the work immediately, reducing the chances that children remain in hazardous environments due to administrative failures.
Introduces potential cost recovery for public resources. The bill allows the Department to seek reimbursement from parties originally responsible for conducting lead assessments, potentially encouraging landlords, property owners, or local agencies to act more quickly and responsibly.
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Who cares
Primary care providers
The bill would require them to recommend follow-up blood lead screenings to parents of children with levels from 15 to 24.99 micrograms per deciliter of whole blood.
Parents of children with elevated blood lead levels
They would receive follow-up screening recommendations in that range, while levels above 25 micrograms per deciliter would trigger measures to ensure an environmental investigation is completed.
New York State Department of Health
The department would have to complete an environmental investigation immediately if it remained unfinished 180 days after notice of the blood lead level finding.
Entities responsible for environmental investigations
They could face recovery of the department’s assessment costs if it steps in to complete an investigation.
Headline styles
Require Lead Re-Testing for Kids
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
669
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. JOYNER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to screening for lead poisoning in children
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 1370-e of the public health law is amended by adding two new subdivisions 6 and 7 to read as follows:
6. The department shall require primary care providers to recommend follow up blood lead level screenings to parents of children whose blood lead levels test at not less than 15 micrograms per deciliter of whole blood up to 24.99 micrograms per deciliter of whole blood.
7. If a child's blood level test is above 25 micrograms per deciliter of whole blood, the commissioner or his designee shall take appropriate measures to ensure that an environmental investigation, as required by subpart 67-2 of title ten of the New York state codes, rules and regulations, is completed. If the department finds that the investigation has not been completed within one hundred eighty days of its notice of the blood lead level finding, the department shall complete such investigation immediately. The department may take reasonable measures to collect the costs of conducting these assessments from entities originally responsible for conducting them.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00497-01-9
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.