Senate Bill S6522

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6522--A
     Cal. No. 449
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 4, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. RIVERA, BAILEY, BIAGGI, BROUK, GOUNARDES, HINCHEY,
   HOYLMAN, JACKSON, KRUEGER, LIU, MAY,  MAYER,  MYRIE,  RAMOS,  SANDERS,
   SEPULVEDA  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
   committed to the Committee on Judiciary -- recommitted to the  Commit-
   tee  on Judiciary in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported
   favorably from said committee, ordered to  first  and  second  report,
   ordered  to  a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining
   its place in the order of third reading
 
 AN ACT to amend the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,  in  relation  to
   protecting  patients  from  certain  penalties  due to money judgments
   arising from actions brought by hospitals or health care professionals
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision (b) of section 5201 of the civil practice law
 and rules is amended to read as follows:
   (b) Property against which a money judgment may be enforced.  A  money
 judgment may be enforced against any property which could be assigned or
 transferred,  whether it consists of a present or future right or inter-
 est and whether or not it is vested, unless it is exempt  from  applica-
 tion  to the satisfaction of the judgment. A money judgment entered upon
 a joint liability of two or more persons may be enforced  against  indi-
 vidual  property  of  those  persons summoned and joint property of such
 persons with any other persons against whom the judgment is entered.  NO
 PROPERTY  LIEN  SHALL  BE ENTERED OR ENFORCED AGAINST A DEBTOR'S PRIMARY
 RESIDENCE IN AN ACTION ARISING FROM A MEDICAL  DEBT  AND  BROUGHT  BY  A
 HOSPITAL LICENSED UNDER ARTICLE TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW OR
 A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL AUTHORIZED UNDER TITLE EIGHT OF THE EDUCATION
 LAW.
   §  2.  Subdivision  (b)  of section 5231 of the civil practice law and
 rules, as amended by chapter 575 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read
 as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD11180-02-2
 S. 6522--A                          2
 
   (b) Issuance. Where a judgment debtor is  receiving  or  will  receive
 money from any source, an income execution for installments therefrom of
 not  more  than  ten  percent thereof may be issued and delivered to the
 sheriff of the county in which the judgment debtor resides or, where the
 judgment  debtor  is a non-resident, the county in which he is employed;
 provided, however, that (i) no amount shall be withheld from  the  judg-
 ment  debtor's  earnings  pursuant  to  an income execution for any week
 unless the disposable earnings of the  judgment  debtor  for  that  week
 exceed  the  greater  of  thirty  times  the federal minimum hourly wage
 prescribed in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or thirty  times  the
 state minimum hourly wage prescribed in section six hundred fifty-two of
 the  labor  law  as in effect at the time the earnings are payable; (ii)
 the amount withheld from the judgment debtor's earnings pursuant  to  an
 income  execution  for  any week shall not exceed twenty-five percent of
 the disposable earnings of the judgment debtor for that  week,  or,  the
 amount  by which the disposable earnings of the judgment debtor for that
 week exceed the greater of thirty times the federal minimum hourly  wage
 prescribed  by  the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or thirty times the
 state minimum hourly wage prescribed in section six hundred fifty-two of
 the labor law as in effect at the time the earnings are payable,  which-
 ever  is  less;  (iii)  if  the earnings of the judgment debtor are also
 subject to deductions for alimony, support  or  maintenance  for  family
 members  or former spouses pursuant to section five thousand two hundred
 forty-one or section five thousand two hundred forty-two of  this  arti-
 cle, the amount withheld from the judgment debtor's earnings pursuant to
 this section shall not exceed the amount by which twenty-five percent of
 the disposable earnings of the judgment debtor for that week exceeds the
 amount  deducted  from the judgment debtor's earnings in accordance with
 section five thousand two hundred forty-one or section five thousand two
 hundred forty-two of this article; AND (IV) NO AMOUNT SHALL  BE  IMPOSED
 IN  JUDGMENTS  ARISING  FROM A MEDICAL DEBT ACTION BROUGHT BY A HOSPITAL
 LICENSED UNDER ARTICLE TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW OR A HEALTH
 CARE PROFESSIONAL AUTHORIZED UNDER TITLE EIGHT  OF  THE  EDUCATION  LAW.
 Nothing  in this section shall be construed to modify, abrogate, impair,
 or affect any exemption from the satisfaction of a money judgment other-
 wise granted by law.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.