S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6509
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SEPTIMO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, the state finance law, the tax
law and the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to ovarian cancer
research
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The opening paragraph of paragraph (b) and paragraph (d) of
subdivision 1 of section 2410 of the public health law, the opening
paragraph of paragraph (b) as added and paragraph (d) as amended by
chapter 32 of the laws of 2008, are amended to read as follows:
the governor shall appoint six regional members, three of whom shall
serve as full voting members and three of whom shall serve as alterna-
tive members without voting rights. Such regional members shall be
persons who have or have had breast OR OVARIAN cancer, and shall be
actively involved with a community-based, grass-roots breast OR OVARIAN
cancer organization. Two of such appointments shall be made upon the
recommendation of the temporary president of the senate and two shall be
made upon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly. One
regional member shall be appointed from each of the following geographic
areas of the state: Long Island, New York City, the Hudson Valley,
Northern New York, Central New York and Western New York. The order of
appointments and recommendations for appointments and voting rights
shall rotate as follows:
(d) the governor shall appoint one voting member who shall be a person
who has or has survived breast OR OVARIAN cancer and one voting member
who shall be a person who has or has survived prostate or testicular
cancer.
§ 2. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (e) and (h) of subdivision 1 of section
2411 of the public health law, as amended by section 5 of part A of
chapter 60 of the laws of 2014, are amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07096-01-5
A. 6509 2
(a) Survey state agencies, boards, programs and other state govern-
mental entities to assess what, if any, relevant data has been or is
being collected which may be of use to researchers engaged in breast OR
OVARIAN cancer research;
(b) Consistent with the survey conducted pursuant to paragraph (a) of
this subdivision, compile a list of data collected by state agencies
which may be of assistance to researchers engaged in breast OR OVARIAN
cancer research as established in section twenty-four hundred twelve of
this title;
(c) Consult with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the
National Institutes of Health, the Federal Agency For Health Care Policy
and Research, the National Academy of Sciences and other organizations
or entities which may be involved in cancer research to solicit both
information regarding breast OR OVARIAN cancer research projects that
are currently being conducted and recommendations for future research
projects;
(e) Solicit, receive, and review applications from public and private
agencies and organizations and qualified research institutions for
grants from the breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education fund,
created pursuant to section ninety-seven-yy of the state finance law, to
conduct research or educational programs which focus on the causes,
prevention, screening, treatment and cure of breast AND OVARIAN cancer
and may include, but are not limited to mapping of breast [cancer] AND
OVARIAN CANCERS, and basic, behavioral, clinical, demographic, environ-
mental, epidemiologic and psychosocial research. The board shall make
recommendations to the commissioner, and the commissioner shall, in [his
or her] THEIR discretion, grant approval of applications for grants from
those applications recommended by the board. The board shall consult
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Insti-
tutes of Health, the Federal Agency For Health Care Policy and Research,
the National Academy of Sciences, breast AND OVARIAN cancer advocacy
groups, and other organizations or entities which may be involved in
breast AND OVARIAN cancer research to solicit both information regarding
breast AND OVARIAN cancer research projects that are currently being
conducted and recommendations for future research projects. As used in
this section, "qualified research institution" may include academic
medical institutions, state or local government agencies, public or
private organizations within this state, and any other institution
approved by the department, which is conducting a breast AND OVARIAN
cancer research project or educational program. If a board member
submits an application for a grant from the breast AND OVARIAN cancer
research and education fund, [he or she] SUCH BOARD MEMBER shall be
prohibited from reviewing and making a recommendation on the applica-
tion;
(h) Meet at least six times in the first year, at the request of the
chair and at any other time as the chair deems necessary. The board
shall meet at least two times a year and as needed thereafter. Provided,
however, that at least one such meeting a year shall be a public hear-
ing, at which the general public may question and present information
and comments to the board with respect to the operation of the health
research science board, the breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and
education fund, and pesticide reporting established pursuant to sections
33-1205 and 33-1207 of the environmental conservation law. At such hear-
ing, the commissioner of the department of environmental conservation or
[his or her] SUCH COMMISSIONER'S designee shall make a report to the
board with respect to the efficiency and utility of pesticide reporting
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established pursuant to sections 33-1205 and 33-1207 of the environ-
mental conservation law. Should the existing bylaws be amended by the
board, any such amendments shall be consistent with the revisions of
this paragraph[;].
§ 3. Section 2412 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 219
of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
§ 2412. Agency implementation. All state agencies, including, but not
limited to, the departments of agriculture and markets, environmental
conservation, and health, shall review their programs and operations
(pursuant to guidelines established by the board) to determine whether
they currently collect data which may be of use to researchers engaged
in breast, OVARIAN, prostate or testicular cancer research. Any agency
collecting such data shall forward a description of the data to the
health research science board.
§ 4. Section 2413 of the public health law, as amended by section 5-a
of part A of chapter 60 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as
follows:
§ 2413. Biennial report. The commissioner shall submit a report on or
before January first commencing in nineteen hundred ninety-nine, and
biennially thereafter, to the governor, the temporary president of the
senate and the speaker of the assembly concerning the operation of the
health research science board. Such report shall include recommendations
from the health research science board including, but not limited to,
the types of data that would be useful for breast AND OVARIAN cancer
researchers and whether private citizen use of residential pesticides
should be added to the reporting requirements. The report shall also
include a summary of research requests granted or denied. In addition,
such report shall include an evaluation by the commissioner, the commis-
sioner of the department of environmental conservation and the health
research science board of the basis, efficiency and scientific utility
of the information derived from pesticide reporting pursuant to sections
33-1205 and 33-1207 of the environmental conservation law and recommend
whether such system should be modified or continued. The report shall
include a summary of the comments and recommendations presented by the
public at the board's public hearings.
§ 5. Section 97-yy of the state finance law, as added by chapter 279
of the laws of 1996, subdivisions 2 and 2-a as amended by chapter 385 of
the laws of 2007, and subdivision 2-b as amended by chapter 453 of the
laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
§ 97-yy. Breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education fund. 1.
There is hereby established in the joint custody of the commissioner of
taxation and finance and the comptroller, a special fund to be known as
the "breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education fund".
2. Such fund shall consist of all revenues received by the department
of taxation and finance, pursuant to the provisions of section two
hundred nine-D and section six hundred twenty-seven of the tax law, all
moneys collected pursuant to section four hundred four-q of the vehicle
and traffic law, as added by chapter five hundred twenty-eight of the
laws of nineteen hundred ninety-nine, and all other moneys appropriated,
credited, or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant
to law. For each state fiscal year, there shall be appropriated to the
fund by the state, in addition to all other moneys required to be depos-
ited into such fund, an amount equal to the amounts of monies collected
and deposited into the fund pursuant to sections two hundred nine-D and
six hundred twenty-seven of the tax law and section four hundred four-q
of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter five hundred twen-
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ty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-nine, and the amounts of
moneys received and deposited into the fund from grants, gifts and
bequests during the preceding calendar year, as certified by the comp-
troller. Nothing contained herein shall prevent the state from receiving
grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in
this section and depositing them into the fund according to law.
2-a. On or before the first day of February each year, the comptroller
shall certify to the governor, temporary president of the senate, speak-
er of the assembly, chair of the senate finance committee and chair of
the assembly ways and means committee, the amount of money deposited in
the breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education fund during the
preceding calendar year as the result of revenue derived pursuant to
sections two hundred nine-D and six hundred twenty-seven of the tax law
and section four hundred four-q of the vehicle and traffic law, as added
by chapter five hundred twenty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred
ninety-nine, and from grants, gifts and bequests.
2-b. On or before the first day of February each year, the commission-
er of health shall provide a written report to the temporary president
of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the senate finance
committee, chair of the assembly ways and means committee, chair of the
senate committee on health, chair of the assembly health committee, the
state comptroller and the public. Such report shall include how the
monies of the fund were utilized during the preceding calendar year, and
shall include:
(i) the amount of money dispersed from the fund and the award process
used for such disbursements;
(ii) recipients of awards from the fund;
(iii) the amount awarded to each;
(iv) the purposes for which such awards were granted; and
(v) a summary financial plan for such monies which shall include esti-
mates of all receipts and all disbursements for the current and succeed-
ing fiscal years, along with the actual results from the prior fiscal
year.
3. Monies of the fund shall be expended only for breast AND OVARIAN
cancer research and educational projects. As used in this section,
"breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education projects" means scien-
tific research or educational projects which, pursuant to section two
thousand four hundred eleven of the public health law, are approved by
the department of health, upon the recommendation of the health research
science board.
4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner
of health.
5. To the extent practicable, the commissioner of health shall ensure
that all monies received during a fiscal year are expended prior to the
end of that fiscal year.
§ 6. Section 209-D of the tax law, as added by chapter 279 of the laws
of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
§ 209-D. Gift for breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education.
Effective for any tax year commencing on or after January first, nine-
teen hundred ninety-six, a taxpayer in any taxable year may elect to
contribute to the support of the breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and
education fund. Such contribution shall be in any whole dollar amount
and shall not reduce the amount of the state tax owed by such taxpayer.
The commissioner shall include space on the corporate income tax return
to enable a taxpayer to make such contribution. Notwithstanding any
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other provision of law, all revenues collected pursuant to this section
shall be credited to the breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and educa-
tion fund and shall be used only for those purposes enumerated in
section ninety-seven-yy of the state finance law.
§ 7. Section 627 of the tax law, as added by chapter 279 of the laws
of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
§ 627. Gift for breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education.
Effective for any tax year commencing on or after January first, nine-
teen hundred ninety-six, an individual in any taxable year may elect to
contribute to the breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education fund.
Such contribution shall be in any whole dollar amount and shall not
reduce the amount of state tax owed by such individual. The commissioner
shall include space on the personal income tax return to enable a
taxpayer to make such contribution. Notwithstanding any other provision
of law all revenues collected pursuant to this section shall be credited
to the breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education fund and used
only for those purposes enumerated in section ninety-seven-yy of the
state finance law.
§ 8. Section 404-q of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter
528 of the laws of 1999 and subdivision 2 as amended by section 7-a of
part A of chapter 60 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
§ 404-q. Distinctive "drive for the cure" license plates. 1. Any
person residing in this state shall, upon request, be issued a distinc-
tive "drive for the cure" license plate in support of breast, OVARIAN,
prostate and testicular cancer research bearing the phrase "drive for
the cure". Application for said license plate shall be filed with the
commissioner in such form and detail as the commissioner shall
prescribe.
2. A distinctive "drive for the cure" license plate issued pursuant to
this section shall be issued in the same manner as other number plates
upon the payment of the regular registration fee prescribed by section
four hundred one of this article, provided, however, that an additional
annual service charge of twenty-five dollars shall be charged for such
plate. Twelve dollars and fifty cents from each twenty-five dollars
received as annual service charges under this section shall be deposited
to the credit of the breast AND OVARIAN cancer research and education
fund established pursuant to section ninety-seven-yy of the state
finance law and shall be used for research and education programs under-
taken pursuant to section twenty-four hundred ten of the public health
law. Twelve dollars and fifty cents from each twenty-five dollars
received as annual service charges under this section shall be deposited
to the credit of the New York State prostate and testicular cancer
research and education fund established pursuant to section
ninety-five-e of the state finance law and shall be used for research
and education programs undertaken pursuant to section ninety-five-e of
the state finance law. Provided, however that one year after the effec-
tive date of this section funds in the amount of six thousand dollars,
or so much thereof as may be available, shall be allocated to the
department to offset costs associated with the production of such
license plates.
§ 9. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law.