NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4713

Senate Bill S4713

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 28, 2025	amended on third reading (t) 4713a
Mar 11, 2025	advanced to third reading
Mar 10, 2025	2nd report cal.
Mar 05, 2025	1st report cal.497
Feb 12, 2025	referred to mental health

Votes

- Mar 5, 2025 - Mental Health Committee Vote
  S4713
  
  7
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Mental Health Committee Vote: Mar 5, 2025
      
      aye (7)
      
      Brouk
      
      Bynoe
      
      Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick
      
      Fernandez
      
      Palumbo
      
      Rivera
      
      Webb

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2025-S4713 - Details

Law Section:: Mental Hygiene Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §33.16, Ment Hyg L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S8967

2025-S4713 - Summary

Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections; provides that such provisions shall not be construed as requiring a facility to retain records for any particular length of time.

2025-S4713 - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4713

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to allowing direct
descendants of a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty
years or longer to access such patient's clinical records

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would allow direct descendants of individuals who have been
deceased for 50 years or longer to access their ancestors' old clinical
records.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

  Section  1 adds direct descendants of deceased patients to the list of
qualified persons permitted  to  access  patient  clinical  records  and
directs OMH to establish a process for proving direct descent.

  Section  2 clarifies that section 33.16 of the mental hygiene law does

not require that facilities  retain  records  indefinitely  or  for  any
particular length of time.

  Section 3 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In  2014, New York State enacted a law barring anyone from accessing old
clinical records of deceased individuals unless  the  person  requesting
access  is a parent, a child, a sibling, or a spouse of the deceased. If
no such immediate family members are alive, this effectively  makes  the
clinical  records of deceased individuals permanently inaccessible, even
if the person requesting the information is a direct descendant  of  the
deceased.

Modern  research  shows that people can have a genetic predisposition to
mental illness which, if left untreated, can lead to severe consequences
such as suicide. One way people can be made aware of whether they  might
have such a predisposition is by accessing the clinical records of their
ancestors  so  that  they  can  identify if there is a pattern of mental
illness or suicidal behavior in their family. By having access to ances-
tors' old clinical records, descendants can gain insight into their  own
genetic  risk factors for psychiatric illness. From there, they can then
choose to seek preliminary treatment to prevent the potential  onset  of
mental  health  disorders.  Thus,  direct descendants of individuals who
have been deceased for fifty years or more should have  access  to  this
potentially life-saving information.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective immediately.

2025-S4713 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4713
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 12, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FAHY  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to  allowing  direct
   descendants  of  a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty
   years or longer to access such patient's clinical records

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  6  of  subdivision (a) of section 33.16 of the
 mental hygiene law, as amended by chapter 233 of the laws  of  2017,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   6.  (I)  "Qualified  person"  means any properly identified patient or
 client, guardian of a person with a developmental  disability  appointed
 pursuant  to article seventeen-A of the surrogate's court procedure act,
 or committee for an incompetent appointed pursuant to this chapter or  a
 parent  of  an  infant, or a guardian of an infant appointed pursuant to
 article seventeen of the surrogate's court procedure act or other legal-
 ly appointed guardian of an infant who may be entitled to request access
 to a clinical record pursuant to paragraph three of subdivision  (b)  of
 this  section,  or a parent, spouse, adult child, or adult sibling of an
 adult patient or client who may be entitled to request access to a clin-
 ical record pursuant to  paragraph  four  of  subdivision  (b)  of  this
 section,  OR  A  DIRECT DESCENDANT OF A FORMER PATIENT OR CLIENT WHO HAS
 BEEN DECEASED FOR A PERIOD OF FIFTY YEARS OR LONGER.
   (II) THE COMMISSIONER OF MENTAL  HEALTH  SHALL  PROMULGATE  RULES  AND
 REGULATIONS TO ESTABLISH A PROCESS AND STANDARD OF EVIDENCE ACCORDING TO
 WHICH INDIVIDUALS MAY PRESENT TO A FACILITY PROOF OF DIRECT DESCENT FROM
 A FORMER PATIENT OR CLIENT.
   §  2.    Paragraph 5 of subdivision (b) of section 33.16 of the mental
 hygiene law, as amended by chapter 233 of the laws of 1991,  is  amended
 to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06027-02-5
 S. 4713                             2

 
   5.  Subject  to the provisions of this subdivision and subdivision (c)
 of this section, upon the written request of  any  qualified  person,  a
 facility  shall furnish to such person, within a reasonable time, a copy
 of any clinical record requested  which  the  person  is  authorized  to
 inspect pursuant to this subdivision; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NOTHING IN
 THIS  SECTION  SHALL  BE  CONSTRUED  AS REQUIRING THAT A FACILITY RETAIN
 CLINICAL RECORDS INDEFINITELY OR FOR ANY PARTICULAR LENGTH  OF  TIME  IN
 ANTICIPATION OF ATTEMPTED ACCESS BY AN INDIVIDUAL MEETING THE DEFINITION
 OF A QUALIFIED PERSON.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S4713A (ACTIVE) - Details

Law Section:: Mental Hygiene Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §33.16, Ment Hyg L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S8967

2025-S4713A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S4713A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4713A

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to designating
records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for
a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject
to privacy protections

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would remove privacy protections for records and information
pertaining to individuals deceased for fifty years or more.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 33.16 of the mental health law by stating that
records and information relating to a person who has been deceased for
fifty years or more shall be considered historic records and shall no
longer be considered confidential or subject to privacy protections.

Section 2 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Mental health records are a crucial resource for historians, research-
ers, genealogists, and descendants seeking to understand the experiences
of individuals who lived in state-operated psychiatric facilities.
However, current privacy laws indefinitely restrict access to such
records, even when there is no longer a reasonable expectation of priva-
cy due to the passage of time.

This bill balances the interests of privacy and the public good by
establishing a clear, 50-year threshold after which clinical records of
deceased individuals are reclassified as historic. Notably, this thresh-
old mirrors the revised federal HIPAA privacy rule, which permits the
disclosure of health information 50 years after an individual's death. A
number of states have adopted this standard into their own laws,
reflecting a growing national consensus that this is an appropriate
timeframe for preserving individual privacy while enabling historical
access.

Access to these records also supports important public discourse and
scientific understanding. For example, the availability of clinical
files from decades past can help demonstrate that conditions such as
autism have existed and been documented well before the modern diagnos-
tic era. This stands in direct opposition to the harmful and misleading
narrative-recently promoted by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-that
autism is a recent phenomenon caused solely by contemporary environ-
mental factors. Public access to historical records allows for a more
accurate and evidence-based understanding of mental health history,
diagnosis trends, and the evolution of psychiatric care.

By clarifying that confidentiality protections no longer apply after
this period, the bill enables institutions to respond to public requests
for information in a legally sound and administratively manageable way,
while explicitly stating that there is no new record retention require-

ment. It supports the preservation of history and family heritage while
maintaining respect for privacy and administrative capacity.

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION:

This version removes privacy protections for the clinical records of
those deceased for fifty years or more, expanding access to the records
beyond direct descendants.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective immediately.

2025-S4713A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4713--A
     Cal. No. 497
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 12, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FAHY  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health --  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  mental  hygiene law, in relation to designating
   records and information relating to a patient who  has  been  deceased
   for  a  period  of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer
   subject to privacy protections
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision (c) of section 33.13 of the mental hygiene law
 is amended by adding a new paragraph 19 to read as follows:
   19. RECORDS AND INFORMATION RELATING TO A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN DECEASED
 FOR FIFTY YEARS OR MORE SHALL BE CONSIDERED HISTORIC RECORDS  AND  SHALL
 NO  LONGER BE CONSIDERED CONFIDENTIAL OR SUBJECT TO PRIVACY PROTECTIONS;
 PROVIDED, HOWEVER THAT  THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL  NOT  BE  CONSTRUED  AS
 REQUIRING  THAT  A  FACILITY RETAIN CLINICAL RECORDS INDEFINITELY OR FOR
 ANY PARTICULAR LENGTH OF TIME IN ANTICIPATION OF ATTEMPTED ACCESS.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06027-03-5

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