NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5722

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 28, 2025	referred to health

co-Sponsors

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A31
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Add & amd §206-c, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: A11132
2021-2022: A244
2023-2024: S5732, A5370

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to creating the health emergency response data system, which collects information and statistical data relating to public health emergencies in order to assist the department of health, other government entities, health care providers, and the public in understanding and responding to public health emergencies.

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5722

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to creating the
health emergency response data system

 
PURPOSE:

This bill is designed to create in statute the Health Emergency Response
Data System (HERDS) and bring transparency to the information gathered
during public health emergencies, including communicable disease
outbreaks like COVID-19, by requiring the Department of Health to share
aggregate data from HERDS reports with the entities reporting and the
public.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Creates a new section 206-c of the public health law to
create the Health Emergency Response Data System (HERDS) in statute.

Sections 2: Amends paragraph b of subdivision 2 of section 206-c of the
public health law directing HERDS to make HERDS information available to
government entities, health care providers, and the public, including
posting on the department's website as soon and as close to real-time as
practicable after it is collected but no later than seven days after the
department receives it.

Section 3: Sets Effective Date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Department requires healthcare providers of all types to answer
survey data points throughout an emergency, often changing the data
requested from the providers at various intervals and collecting this
data in the Health Emergency Reporting Data System (HERDS. In every
other instance, the data provided by individual providers on HERDS forms
have been given back to providers in an aggregated form to help them
better understand and manage the emergency. Much to the dismay of
providers, however, after months of daily data submissions and requests
to the department to share the aggregate data, the department has never
shared any of the HERDS data relating to the COVID19 public health emer-
gency. At 2020 legislative hearings on COVID-19, providers expressed a
desire to see this information to inform their emergency response poli-
cies better. This bill would ensure that the department provides timely
feedback to providers as they have in the past and to the public on the
department's website whenever the HERDS is activated.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: Senate

2019: N/A

2020: No Senate Same-As

2021: No Senate Same-As

2022: No Senate Same-As

2023: S5732, Reported and Committed to Finance

2024: S5732, Vetoed Memo.76

Assembly

2019: N/A

2020: A1132, Referred to Health

2021: A244A, Passed Assembly

2022: A244A, Passed Assembly

2023: A5370, Referred to health

2024: A5370, Vetoed Memo.76

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, section two
of this act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of health shall
make regulations and take other actions reasonably necessary to imple-
ment each section of this act on its effective date.

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5722
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 28, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health  law,  in  relation  to  creating  the
   health emergency response data system
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  section
 206-c to read as follows:
   § 206-C. HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE DATA SYSTEM. 1. A. THE HEALTH EMER-
 GENCY  RESPONSE  DATA SYSTEM, REFERRED TO IN THIS SECTION AS "HERDS", IS
 HEREBY CREATED IN THE DEPARTMENT. THE HERDS  SHALL  COLLECT  INFORMATION
 AND  STATISTICAL  DATA,  REFERRED  TO IN THIS SECTION AS "HERDS INFORMA-
 TION", RELATING TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES AND  HEALTH  CARE  SERVICES
 RELATED TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES, IN ORDER TO ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT,
 OTHER  GOVERNMENT  ENTITIES,  HEALTH  CARE  PROVIDERS, AND THE PUBLIC IN
 UNDERSTANDING AND RESPONDING TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES.
   B. INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE HERDS INFORMATION SHALL BE KEPT CONFIDEN-
 TIAL. HERDS INFORMATION DISCLOSED UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE AGGREGATED
 SO IT CANNOT BE INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE, BUT IT SHALL  CONTAIN  SUFFI-
 CIENT  DETAIL,  SO IT REFERS TO SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC AREAS AND HOSPITALS,
 AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE TWENTY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER.
   C. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL MAKE REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING THIS SECTION.
   2. A. THE  HERDS  SHALL  COLLECT  HERDS  INFORMATION,  INCLUDING  FROM
 SURVEYS  SUBMITTED  BY  HOSPITALS,  NURSING HOMES, AND OTHER HEALTH CARE
 PROVIDERS, AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   B. THE HERDS SHALL  BE  OPERATED  BY  THE  DEPARTMENT,  INCLUDING  THE
 COLLECTING  AND MAKING AVAILABLE INFORMATION, IN CONJUNCTION WITH AND TO
 IMPROVE THE DEPARTMENT'S FULFILLMENT OF ITS RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER ARTI-
 CLES TWENTY-ONE AND FORTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00311-01-5
 S. 5722                             2

   § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 2  of  section  206-c  of  the  public
 health  law,  as added by section one of this act, is amended to read as
 follows:
   b.    HERDS SHALL MAKE HERDS INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO GOVERNMENT ENTI-
 TIES, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND THE PUBLIC, INCLUDING  POSTING  ON  THE
 DEPARTMENT'S  WEBSITE,  AS SOON AND AS CLOSE TO REAL TIME AS PRACTICABLE
 AFTER IT IS COLLECTED BUT NO LATER THAN SEVEN DAYS AFTER IT IS  RECEIVED
 BY THE DEPARTMENT.
   C.  The  HERDS  shall  be  operated  by  the department, including the
 collecting and making available information, in conjunction with and  to
 improve the department's fulfillment of its responsibilities under arti-
 cles twenty-one and forty-one of this chapter.
   §  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately; provided, however,
 section two of this act shall take effect on the sixtieth day  after  it
 shall  have  become  a  law.  Effective immediately, the commissioner of
 health shall make regulations and take other actions  reasonably  neces-
 sary to implement each section of this act on its effective date.

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Senate Bill S5722

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

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co-Sponsors

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

James Skoufis

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Patricia Fahy

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S5722 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments