Assembly Bill A6835

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6835
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. McDONALD, SEAWRIGHT, BENDETT -- read once and
   referred to the Committee 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.
                                                            LBD00936-01-5
              

 A. 6835                             2
 
 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] within the scope of [his] THEIR  function
 in  such  capacity provided that (a) such individual has taken action or
 made recommendations within the scope of [his] THEIR function and  with-
 out  malice,  and (b) in the reasonable belief after reasonable investi-
 gation 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. 6835                             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.