Senate Bill S6981

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6981

SPONSOR: MANNION
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing special
permits to practice as a clinical laboratory practitioner

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to allow the State Education Department to
issue a special permit to practice as a clinical laboratory practitioner
to an individual who has met all the necessary requirements for licen-
sure, besides the examination, for up to 180 days, provided that such
individual files an application with the department for licensure.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would amend the section heading of section 8608
of the Education Law.

Section 2 of this bill would amend section 8608 of the Education Law by
              

allowing the State Education Department to issue a special permit to
practice as a clinical laboratory practitioner to an individual who has
met all the necessary requirements for licensure, besides the examina-
tion, for up to 180 days, provided that such individual files an appli-
cation with the department for licensure.

Section 3 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take
effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and other healthcare
facilities across the State have received much higher volumes of
patients into their care. At the same time, these healthcare facilities
are experiencing extreme staffing shortages that have overwhelmed the
existing staff and negatively impacted the standard of care available to
each patient. There is a severe lack of clinical laboratory profes-
sionals, who provide a wide variety of essential services to patients.

In September 2021, Governor Hochul issued Executive Order No. 4, declar-
ing a Statewide disaster emergency due to healthcare staffing shortages.
One of the provisions of this Executive Order allowed the State Educa-
tion Department to issue special permits to individuals that completed
all of the necessary requirements to practice as clinical laboratory
practitioners, besides achieving their official licensure, for up to 180
days while they pursued their license. This Executive Order provided
much-needed staff members to hospitals and healthcare facilities who
were lacking laboratory practitioners.

Governor Hochul recently issued Executive Order 4.2, which extended the
declaration of a Statewide disaster emergency due to healthcare staffing
shortages until May 22, 2023. As this extension is set to expire soon,
it is imperative that the Legislature takes action before hospitals and
other healthcare facilities suffer extreme staffing shortages again.
This bill would allow the State Education Department to issue a special
permit to practice as a clinical laboratory practitioner to an individ-
ual who has met all the necessary requirements for licensure, besides
the examination, for up to 180 days, provided that such individual files
an application with the department for licensure.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.