S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5316
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 7, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Higher Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law and the public health law, in relation
   to  removing the  prohibition  relating to certain discovery of testi-
   mony
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.    Subdivision  3 of section 6527 of the education law, as
 amended by chapter 257 of the laws  of  1987,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   3. No individual who serves as a member of (a) a committee established
 to  administer  a  utilization  review  plan  of a hospital, including a
 hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of the public health law  or
 a  hospital  as defined in subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the mental
 hygiene law, or (b) a committee having the responsibility of the  inves-
 tigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the mental
 hygiene  law  or  the  evaluation and improvement of the quality of care
 rendered in a hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of the  public
 health  law  or a hospital as defined in subdivision ten of section 1.03
 of the mental hygiene law,  or  (c)  any  medical  review  committee  or
 subcommittee thereof of a local, county or state medical, dental, podia-
 try  or  optometrical  society,  any such society itself, a professional
 standards review organization or  an  individual  when  such  committee,
 subcommittee,  society,  organization  or  individual  is performing any
 medical or quality assurance review function including the investigation
 of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the mental  hygiene
 law,  either  described  in  clauses  (a)  and  (b) of this subdivision,
 required by law, or involving any controversy or dispute between  (i)  a
 physician,  dentist, podiatrist or optometrist or hospital administrator
 and a patient concerning  the  diagnosis,  treatment  or  care  of  such
 patient  or  the  fees or charges therefor or (ii) a physician, dentist,

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02508-01-3
              

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 podiatrist or optometrist or hospital administrator and  a  provider  of
 medical,  dental,  podiatric  or  optometrical  services  concerning any
 medical or health charges or fees of such physician, dentist, podiatrist
 or  optometrist,  or (d) a committee appointed pursuant to section twen-
 ty-eight hundred five-j of the public health law to participate  in  the
 medical and dental malpractice prevention program, or (e) any individual
 who  participated in the preparation of incident reports required by the
 department of health pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred five-l  of
 the  public  health  law, or (f) a committee established to administer a
 utilization review plan, or a committee  having  the  responsibility  of
 evaluation  and improvement of the quality of care rendered, in a health
 maintenance organization  organized  under  article  forty-four  of  the
 public health law or article forty-three of the insurance law, including
 a  committee  of  an  individual  practice  association or medical group
 acting pursuant to a contract with such a health  maintenance  organiza-
 tion,  shall  be liable in damages to any person for any action taken or
 recommendations made, by him OR HER within the scope of his OR HER func-
 tion in such capacity provided that (a) such individual has taken action
 or made recommendations within the scope of  his  OR  HER  function  and
 without malice, and (b) in the reasonable belief after reasonable inves-
 tigation  that  the  act or recommendation was warranted, based upon the
 facts disclosed.
   Neither the proceedings nor the records relating to performance  of  a
 medical  or  a  quality  assurance review function or participation in a
 medical  and  dental  malpractice  prevention  program  nor  any  report
 required  by  the  department of health pursuant to section twenty-eight
 hundred five-l of the public health law described herein, including  the
 investigation  of  an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the
 mental hygiene law, shall be subject to disclosure under  article  thir-
 ty-one  of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules  except as hereinafter
 provided or as provided by any other provision  of  law.  No  person  in
 attendance  at a meeting when a medical or a quality assurance review or
 a medical and dental  malpractice  prevention  program  or  an  incident
 reporting  function described herein was performed, including the inves-
 tigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the mental
 hygiene law, shall be required to testify as to what transpired thereat.
 The prohibition relating to discovery of testimony shall [not] apply  to
 the statements made by any person in attendance at such a meeting who is
 a  party  to  an  action  or  proceeding the subject matter of which was
 reviewed at such meeting.
   § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 2805-m of  the  public  health  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  808  of  the  laws  of 1987, is amended to read as
 follows:
   2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, none of  the  records,
 documentation  or  committee  actions  or  records  required pursuant to
 sections twenty-eight hundred five-j and twenty-eight hundred five-k  of
 this  article,  the  reports  required  pursuant to section twenty-eight
 hundred five-l of this article nor any incident  reporting  requirements
 imposed upon diagnostic and treatment centers pursuant to the provisions
 of  this chapter shall be subject to disclosure under article six of the
 public officers law or article thirty-one of the civil practice law  and
 rules,  except  as  hereinafter  provided  or  as  provided by any other
 provision of law. No person in attendance  at  a  meeting  of  any  such
 committee  shall  be  required to testify as to what transpired thereat.
 The prohibition relating to discovery of testimony shall [not] apply  to
 the statements made by any person in attendance at such a meeting who is
 A. 5316                             3

 a  party  to  an  action  or  proceeding the subject matter of which was
 reviewed at such meeting.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall  have  become  a  law  and  shall  apply  to  all  actions and
 proceedings commenced on or after such date.