What's happening
This bill requires the New York State Department of Health to study racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding rates and report findings and recommendations to state leaders.
Why it matters
Highlights the need to address health inequities. , as the study will examine how racial and ethnic disparities specifically impact breastfeeding rates, which are linked to lifelong health outcomes for both infants and mothers.
Aims to uncover both medical and non-medical barriers. including system-related factors—that contribute to lower breastfeeding rates among certain populations, potentially informing more effective and targeted interventions.
Could drive future policy changes. by requiring actionable recommendations to reduce disparities and increase access to healthcare and breastfeeding support, potentially leading to legislation that directly addresses identified gaps.
Mandates ongoing accountability. , as the Department of Health may issue follow-up reports assessing the effectiveness of previous recommendations, encouraging sustained attention to the issue and adaptation of strategies over time.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Study Racial Gaps in Breastfeeding
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Approval memo.20
- Signed chap.308
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- 3rd reading cal.479
- Substituted for S6707
- Referred to women's issues
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.251
- Returned to assembly
Show 11 earlier actions
- Died in senate
- Referred to rules
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.383
- Rules report cal.383
- Reported
- Reported referred to rules
- Print number 6986a
- Amend and recommit to health
- 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.
Study Breastfeeding Disparities
Senate Floor Calendar · Sponsor Brian Benjamin
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6986--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 3, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring the department of health of the state of New York to conduct a study of the effects of racial and ethnic disparities on breastfeeding rates and prepare and submit a report to the governor and the legislature
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2500-l to read as follows:
§ 2500-l. Study of the effects of racial and ethnic disparities on breastfeeding rates. 1. The department shall conduct a study on the effects of racial and ethnic disparities on breastfeeding rates. The purpose of the study shall be to:
(a) identify statewide and regional breastfeeding rates, trends, patterns, and racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding rates, and medical, non-medical, and system-related factors that may have contributed to breastfeeding rate disparities;
(b) review the extent to which racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding in a geographic area indicate the need to increase access to health care services in that area;
(c) identify ways to reduce or eliminate racial and ethnic disparities that contribute to disparities in breastfeeding rates; and
(d) review the extent to which racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding initiation and duration indicate the need to increase breastfeeding supports among racial and ethnic populations throughout the state.
2. In conducting the study, the department may seek the advice of persons specializing in the fields of neonatal and post neonatal pathol-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10114-02-9
A. 6986--A 2
ogy, maternal and infant health, minority health advocacy, or other related fields.
3. Within one year after the effective date of this section, the department shall prepare and submit to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the assembly a report containing the study's findings concerning the effects of racial and ethnic disparities on breastfeeding rates and recommendations for legislative or other actions that can be undertaken to:
(a) increase breastfeeding rates in the state;
(b) reduce or eliminate racial and ethnic disparities that contribute to disparity in breastfeeding rates;
(c) increase access to health care services in the state; and
(d) increase breastfeeding support throughout the state.
4. The department may prepare and submit additional reports when the department deems it appropriate, and each report, with the exception of the first report prepared under this section, shall additionally identify the extent to which the department's prior recommendations have been successfully implemented in practice and the apparent impact that the implementation of such recommended changes has had on breastfeeding rates in the preceding years.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such date.
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.