What's happening
This bill requires the New York Department of Health to provide updated, culturally appropriate information and support services for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2.
Why it matters
Addresses the unique needs of two distinct viruses. By requiring separate information and recommendations for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, the bill acknowledges that these retroviruses have different health impacts and that patients benefit from virus-specific support services and education.
Improves access for high-risk and underserved populations. The mandate that educational materials be distributed to STD clinics, healthcare facilities, and correctional and community supervision facilities ensures that people most at risk—or with limited access to care—receive relevant health information and support.
Promotes health equity and inclusivity. By specifying that all materials must be culturally and linguistically appropriate, the bill aims to reduce disparities in health education and care, making sure resources are accessible and effective for New York’s diverse communities.
Requires ongoing updates and best practices. The law would ensure that information and support resources are regularly maintained and updated to reflect the latest medical guidance, which helps both patients and providers stay informed about advances in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
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
Expand HTLV Virus Support Services
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 14
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred 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.
Expand HTLV Virus Education
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor Vivian Cook
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5506
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 3, 2019
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 viruses
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 207 of the public health law is amended by adding a new paragraph (p) to read as follows:
(p) The diagnosis, treatment and prevention of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, including information and assistance on where to find community support services, support groups, respite, and care management. In instances in which viral typing is possible, educational materials shall direct to virus specific community support services, support groups, respite, and care management as HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 are two different retroviruses with differing epidemiologies and disease associations requiring specific recommendations for persons infected with HTLV-1 or HTLV-2. Such materials shall be made available to clinics that specialize in sexually transmitted diseases, health care facilities, and department of corrections and community supervision facilities. All information and materials shall be maintained and updated to reflect best practice recommendations and shall be culturally and linguistically appropriate for the communities the materials are made available to.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth 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 effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08055-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 viruses
Purpose or general idea of bill
This legislation adds the HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 viruses to the Department of Health's Health Care and Wellness Education and Outreach Program.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one of this legislation adds new paragraph (p) to include the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, including information and assistance on where to find community support services, to § 207 of the Public Health Law.
Section two of this legislation provides for an effective date of 120 days after it shall have become law. Effective immediately, the addi- tion, 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 effective date.
Justification
HTLV types I and II, or human T-Lymphotropic viruses, were the first retroviruses discovered, originally detected in the early 1980s, but still remain relatively unheard of today. Similar to HIV, HTLV types I and II can be transmitted from mother to child, primarily through breastfeeding, by sexual contact, by blood transfusion, and by sharing contaminated needles. Symptoms develop subtly and can be mistaken for other conditions, but over the years the disease evolves chronically and can eventually lead to immobility and loss of urinary and sensory func- tions. Considered an endemic in the Caribbean, southern Japan, Africa, the Middle East, South America and Melanesia, the exact prevalence of HTLV types I and II in the United States is still unknown.
In the late 1980s, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a recommendation that all blood donation centers in the Country screen for HTLV types I and II, with all donors who are found to be infected, permanently deferred from donating. By 1993, the Centers for Disease Control issued official "Recommendations for Counseling Persons Infected with Human T-Lymphotrophic Virus Types I and II" to provide current information to infected persons as well as guidelines for how to prevent transmission.
Unfortunately, since then, little public health literature on HTLV types I and II has been developed, produced and disseminated, leaving the public at large uneducated and unaware. Furthermore, only a few States in the Nation require the reporting of positive cases of HTLV types I and II, preventing us from truly understanding the scopeof this disease in the United States.
This legislation will ensure that populations at high-risk of contract- ing HTLV types I or II will receive reliable information explaining these viruses.
Prior legislative history
A.7533 - 2017; A.8811-a - 2018
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
This bill does not require any appropriation and will have minimal financial implications, with the Commissioner of Health responsible for promulgating all rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the legislation.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth 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 effective date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.