What's happening
This bill designates human organ delivery vehicles as authorized emergency vehicles, allowing them special traffic privileges during emergencies.
Why it matters
Speeds up life-saving transplants. By granting human organ delivery vehicles emergency vehicle status, the bill enables faster, less obstructed transportation—critical for organs that deteriorate quickly outside the body.
Expands emergency response capabilities. The law officially recognizes organ delivery as an emergency service, placing it alongside ambulances and fire trucks in terms of priority on the road, which could improve organ transplant success rates.
Establishes safety and training standards. The amendment requires drivers of these vehicles to have specialized emergency vehicle training, aiming to balance expedited delivery with public and operator safety.
Clarifies legal protections and responsibilities. By defining “human organ delivery vehicle” and its permitted uses, the bill helps avoid legal ambiguity for organ procurement organizations and law enforcement regarding traffic privileges during emergencies.
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Who cares
Organ procurement organizations
Vehicles operated by or on their behalf solely for emergency transport of organs, tissue or organ recovery and transplant personnel would qualify as authorized emergency vehicles.
Organ delivery drivers
Drivers would need appropriate emergency vehicle training before operating these vehicles as authorized emergency vehicles during emergency operations.
Organ recovery and transplant medical teams
Transporting these personnel in situations involving an imminent health risk would qualify as an emergency operation.
Patients awaiting organ transplants
The bill would give authorized emergency vehicle status to qualifying vehicles delivering organs and tissue for transplantation.
Headline styles
Make Organ Delivery Emergency Vehicles
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1422
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 14, 2019
Introduced by Sens. SERINO, O'MARA, BOYLE, CARLUCCI, FLANAGAN, GALLIVAN, HELMING, SEPULVEDA, SEWARD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to designating human organ delivery vehicles as authorized emergency vehicles
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 101 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 446 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
§ 101. Authorized emergency vehicle. Every ambulance, police vehicle or bicycle, correction vehicle, fire vehicle, civil defense emergency vehicle, emergency ambulance service vehicle, blood delivery vehicle, human organ delivery vehicle, county emergency medical services vehicle, environmental emergency response vehicle, sanitation patrol vehicle, hazardous materials emergency vehicle and ordnance disposal vehicle of the armed forces of the United States.
§ 2. Section 114-b of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 460 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
§ 114-b. Emergency operation. The operation, or parking, of an authorized emergency vehicle, when such vehicle is engaged in transporting a sick or injured person, transporting prisoners, delivering blood or blood products in a situation involving an imminent health risk, transporting human organs, human tissue or medical personnel for the purpose of organ recovery or transplantation in a situation involving an imminent health risk, pursuing an actual or suspected violator of the law, or responding to, or working or assisting at the scene of an accident, disaster, police call, alarm of fire, actual or potential release of hazardous materials or other emergency. Emergency operation shall not include returning from such service.
§ 3. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 117-e to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00415-01-9
S. 1422 2
§ 117-e. Human organ delivery vehicle. Any vehicle which is operated by or on behalf of an organ procurement organization, as defined in subdivision five of section four thousand three hundred sixty of the public health law, for the sole purpose of transporting human organs, human tissue, or medical personnel for the purpose of organ recovery or transplantation on an emergency basis. No human organ delivery vehicle shall be operated as an authorized emergency vehicle engaged in an emergency operation unless the driver of such vehicle has undergone appropriate training for the operation of authorized emergency vehicles during emergency operations.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to designating human organ delivery vehicles as authorized emergency vehicles
Purpose
To define human organ delivery vehicles and their operation and to designate them as an authorized emergency vehicle.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends section 101 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law to add human organ delivery vehicles to the list of authorized emergency vehi- cles.
Section 2: Amends section 114-b of the Vehicle and Traffic Law to add transporting human organs, human tissue, or medical personnel for the purpose of organ recovery or transplantation in a situation involving an imminent health risk to the definition of emergency operation.
Section 3: Adds a new section 117-e to the Vehicle and Traffic Law to define human organ delivery vehicles and to require that any driver of such vehicles has appropriate training in order to operate it as an authorized emergency vehicle. It also requires that any such vehicle is operated by or on behalf of an organ procurement organization, as defined in the Public Health Law.
Section 4: Sets the effective date.
Justification
Time is of the essence when transporting organs for emergencies, and ambulance services are not necessarily always available in time when needed. Under current New York State law, the options for transporting organs are too narrow, and need to be expanded so that more vehicles can serve this critical role. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Illinois define organ transplant vehicles and include them in their list of authorized emergency vehicles. When lives are on the line and every second matters, it is important that New York State does everything we can to ensure that we have the means and the resources to address any emergency. By allowing for a broader range of vehicles to serve this role, and which as authorized emergency vehicles could be fitted with lights and sirens to help navigate through traffic, we will be helping medical transport teams operate within the sensitive time frames they encounter, which in turn saves lives.
Legislative history
201718: S.2162A Passed Senate 2016: S.7013-A Passed Senate
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.