STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2178 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 23, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring immuni- zation against COVID-19 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2164 of the public health law, as amended by chap- 2 ter 401 of the laws of 2015, subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 35 of 3 the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 4 § 2164. Definitions; immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, 5 measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b 6 (Hib), pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, 7 [~~and~~] hepatitis B, and COVID-19. 1. As used in this section, unless the 8 context requires otherwise: 9 a. The term "school" means and includes any public, private or paro- 10 chial child caring center, day nursery, day care agency, nursery school, 11 kindergarten, elementary, intermediate or secondary school. 12 b. The term "child" shall mean and include any person between the ages 13 of two months and eighteen years. 14 c. The term "person in parental relation to a child" shall mean and 15 include his father or mother, by birth or adoption, his legally 16 appointed guardian, or his custodian. A person shall be regarded as the 17 custodian of a child if he has assumed the charge and care of the child 18 because the parents or legally appointed guardian of the minor have 19 died, are imprisoned, are mentally ill, or have been committed to an 20 institution, or because they have abandoned or deserted such child or 21 are living outside the state or their whereabouts are unknown, or have 22 designated the person pursuant to title fifteen-A of article five of the 23 general obligations law as a person in parental relation to the child. 24 d. The term "health practitioner" shall mean any person authorized by 25 law to administer an immunization. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01353-01-3

A. 2178 2 1 2. a. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state shall 2 have administered to such child an adequate dose or doses of an immuniz- 3 ing agent against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, 4 varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pertussis, tetanus, 5 pneumococcal disease, [~~and~~] hepatitis B, and COVID-19, which meets the 6 standards approved by the United States public health service for such 7 biological products, and which is approved by the department under such 8 conditions as may be specified by the public health and health planning 9 council. 10 b. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state born on 11 or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-four and entering sixth 12 grade or a comparable age level special education program with an unas- 13 signed grade on or after September first, two thousand seven, shall have 14 administered to such child a booster immunization containing diphtheria 15 and tetanus toxoids, and an acellular pertussis vaccine, which meets the 16 standards approved by the United States public health service for such 17 biological products, and which is approved by the department under such 18 conditions as may be specified by the public health and health planning 19 council. 20 c. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state entering 21 or having entered seventh grade and twelfth grade or a comparable age 22 level special education program with an unassigned grade on or after 23 September first, two thousand sixteen, shall have administered to such 24 child an adequate dose or doses of immunizing agents against meningococ- 25 cal disease as recommended by the advisory committee on immunization 26 practices of the centers for disease control and prevention, which meets 27 the standards approved by the United States public health service for 28 such biological products, and which is approved by the department under 29 such conditions as may be specified by the public health and health 30 planning council. 31 3. The person in parental relation to any such child who has not 32 previously received such immunization shall present the child to a 33 health practitioner and request such health practitioner to administer 34 the necessary immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, 35 diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), rubella, varicella, 36 pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, [~~and~~] 37 hepatitis B, and COVID-19, as provided in subdivision two of this 38 section. 39 4. If any person in parental relation to such child is unable to pay 40 for the services of a private health practitioner, such person shall 41 present such child to the health officer of the county in which the 42 child resides, who shall then administer the immunizing agent without 43 charge. 44 5. The health practitioner who administers such immunizing agent 45 against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, Haemophilus influen- 46 zae type b (Hib), rubella, varicella, pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal 47 disease, meningococcal disease, [~~and~~] hepatitis B, and COVID-19 to any 48 such child shall give a certificate of such immunization to the person 49 in parental relation to such child. 50 6. In the event that a person in parental relation to a child makes 51 application for admission of such child to a school or has a child 52 attending school and there exists no certificate or other acceptable 53 evidence of the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, 54 measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, teta- 55 nus, COVID-19, and, where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b 56 (Hib), meningococcal disease, and pneumococcal disease, the principal,

A. 2178 3 1 teacher, owner or person in charge of the school shall inform such 2 person of the necessity to have the child immunized, that such immuniza- 3 tion may be administered by any health practitioner, or that the child 4 may be immunized without charge by the health officer in the county 5 where the child resides, if such person executes a consent therefor. In 6 the event that such person does not wish to select a health practitioner 7 to administer the immunization, he or she shall be provided with a form 8 which shall give notice that as a prerequisite to processing the appli- 9 cation for admission to, or for continued attendance at, the school such 10 person shall state a valid reason for withholding consent or consent 11 shall be given for immunization to be administered by a health officer 12 in the public employ, or by a school physician or nurse. The form shall 13 provide for the execution of a consent by such person and it shall also 14 state that such person need not execute such consent if subdivision 15 eight of this section applies to such child. 16 7. (a) No principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of a school 17 shall permit any child to be admitted to such school, or to attend such 18 school, in excess of fourteen days, without the certificate provided for 19 in subdivision five of this section or some other acceptable evidence of 20 the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphthe- 21 ria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, COVID-19 and, 22 where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal 23 disease, and pneumococcal disease; provided, however, such fourteen day 24 period may be extended to not more than thirty days for an individual 25 student by the appropriate principal, teacher, owner or other person in 26 charge where such student is transferring from out-of-state or from 27 another country and can show a good faith effort to get the necessary 28 certification or other evidence of immunization. 29 (b) A parent, a guardian or any other person in parental relationship 30 to a child denied school entrance or attendance may appeal by petition 31 to the commissioner of education in accordance with the provisions of 32 section three hundred ten of the education law. 33 8. If any physician licensed to practice medicine in this state certi- 34 fies that such immunization may be detrimental to a child's health, the 35 requirements of this section shall be inapplicable until such immuniza- 36 tion is found no longer to be detrimental to the child's health. 37 8-a. Whenever a child has been refused admission to, or continued 38 attendance at, a school as provided for in subdivision seven of this 39 section because there exists no certificate provided for in subdivision 40 five of this section or other acceptable evidence of the child's immuni- 41 zation against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, vari- 42 cella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, COVID-19, and, where applicable, 43 Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal disease, and pneumo- 44 coccal disease, the principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of the 45 school shall: 46 a. forward a report of such exclusion and the name and address of such 47 child to the local health authority and to the person in parental 48 relation to the child together with a notification of the responsibility 49 of such person under subdivision two of this section and a form of 50 consent as prescribed by regulation of the commissioner, and 51 b. provide, with the cooperation of the appropriate local health 52 authority, for a time and place at which an immunizing agent or agents 53 shall be administered, as required by subdivision two of this section, 54 to a child for whom a consent has been obtained. Upon failure of a local 55 health authority to cooperate in arranging for a time and place at which 56 an immunizing agent or agents shall be administered as required by

A. 2178 4 1 subdivision two of this section, the commissioner shall arrange for such 2 administration and may recover the cost thereof from the amount of state 3 aid to which the local health authority would otherwise be entitled. 4 10. The commissioner may adopt and amend rules and regulations to 5 effectuate the provisions and purposes of this section. 6 11. Every school shall annually provide the commissioner, on forms 7 provided by the commissioner, a summary regarding compliance with the 8 provisions of this section. 9 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 613 of the public 10 health law, as amended by section 24 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws 11 of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 12 (a) The commissioner shall develop and supervise the execution of a 13 program of immunization, surveillance and testing, to raise to the high- 14 est reasonable level the immunity of the children of the state against 15 communicable diseases including, but not limited to, influenza, poliom- 16 yelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), 17 diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, COVID-19, varicella, hepatitis B, pneu- 18 mococcal disease, and the immunity of adults of the state against 19 diseases identified by the commissioner, including but not limited to 20 influenza, smallpox, hepatitis and such other diseases as the commis- 21 sioner may designate through regulation. Municipalities in the state 22 shall maintain local programs of immunization to raise the immunity of 23 the children and adults of each municipality to the highest reasonable 24 level, in accordance with an application for state aid submitted by the 25 municipality and approved by the commissioner. Such programs shall 26 include assurance of provision of vaccine, serological testing of indi- 27 viduals and educational efforts to inform health care providers and 28 target populations or their parents, if they are minors, of the facts 29 relative to these diseases and immunizations to prevent their occur- 30 rence. 31 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after the date 32 upon which an immunizing agent against COVID-19 for which the United 33 States Food and Drug Administration has issued a biologics license is 34 recommended by majority vote of the advisory committee on immunization 35 practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; provided 36 that the commissioner of health shall notify the legislative bill draft- 37 ing commission upon the occurrence of both such approval and such recom- 38 mendation in order that the commission may maintain an accurate and 39 timely effective data base of the official text of the laws of the state 40 of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of section 44 41 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law. 42 Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule 43 or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec- 44 tive date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such 45 date.

Requires immunization against COVID-19

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