S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5828
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 26, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. REYES -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Health
 
 AN ACT to establish a Minority Coordinating Council on Asthmatic Affairs
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 the "Lydia Soto law".
   § 2. Legislative findings and intent. According to the  American  Lung
 Association,  there  are  over 1.6 million New Yorkers with asthma, with
 over 380,000 of them being children. The annual cost of asthma is  esti-
 mated  to be nearly 18 billion dollars. Access to health care for ethnic
 minorities is often hampered by socio-economic disparities, shortages of
 primary care physicians in minority communities, language  and  literacy
 barriers,  and  cultural  beliefs about the role and usefulness of medi-
 cines. There have emerged clear disparities in the burden and  treatment
 of  asthma in the communities of ethnic minorities. The burden of asthma
 falls disproportionately on  the  African-American  and  Hispanic  popu-
 lations,  and  especially on children of these ethnic minorities. There-
 fore, it is the intent of this  legislature  to  create  a  coordinating
 council  to address these issues and to improve awareness and management
 of asthma prevention and treatment for minorities in this state.
   § 3. The commissioner of health shall establish a Minority  Coordinat-
 ing  Council  on Asthmatic Affairs. Members of the council shall include
 the commissioners of health, environmental conservation, office of chil-
 dren and family services, and the  division  of  housing  and  community
 renewal  or  their  designees. The council shall also include, as deter-
 mined by the commissioner of health,  representatives  of  minority  and
 low-income  communities,  health  care  professionals with knowledge and
 experience in the prevention and  treatment  of  asthma,  and  community
 groups that advocate for environmental justice issues. The council shall
 be  tasked with:  (a) assessing the asthma risk factors for the minority
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02970-03-1

 A. 5828                             2
 
 residents of this state, broken down by county and regions; (b)  identi-
 fying  existing  barriers  to  quality  asthma  treatment and care among
 racial and ethnic minorities; (c) developing evidence-based intervention
 strategies  for addressing the lack of health care in these communities;
 and (d) launching a state-wide  asthma  awareness  campaign  to  educate
 citizens  about  the  disease,  its  symptoms, and the ability to better
 manage asthma through prevention and treatment. The council shall deliv-
 er an annual report addressing various  asthma  program  successes,  new
 trends,  data and issues surrounding minority populations suffering from
 asthma to the governor and the legislature beginning September 1,  2025,
 and annually thereafter.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.