Senate Bill S9822

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9822

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to repeal section 2307 of the public health law relating to
persons knowing themselves to be infected with venereal disease

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill decriminalizes people living with sexual transmitted
infections who engage in consensual sexual activity.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 repeals Section 2307 of the public health law. 2 is the effec-
tive date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York's HIV and STI criminalization law, Public Health Law 2307, is
              

at odds with modern public health policy. The law first came into effect
in 1909 to control the spread of venereal disease solely within the
armed forces. During the World War II era combatting STIs became a
national priority because, at the time, medical treatment took soldiers
out of commission for months. In 1946, the legislature made the law
applicable for the first time to the entire public. 76 years later the
law, based on obsolete and ill-informed medicine and history, remains an
unchanged relic. Modern medicine knows that widespread testing is essen-
tial to treating and reducing transmission of all diseases; yet this law
disincentivizes testing for some diseases as knowledge of one's status
could lead to prosecution.  There are no research or data supporting the
idea that laws criminalizing diseases do anything to lower transmission
rates or encourage treatment or disclosure of one's status. Disease
criminalization directly conflicts with public health goals and weakens
any effective response from public health entities by promoting stigma
and shame that can delay or prevent treatment.

Moreover, PHL §2307 has a disproportionate effect on communities of
color, especially LGBTQ communities of color. The law reflects an exag-
gerated and biased fear, stereotyping those affected by the disease, and
assigning blame to already-marginalized members of society, such as the
poor, sex workers, Black and Brown communities, and new immigrants. When
a disease can be sexually transmitted, moral panic and stereotypes about
a group's sexual practices can lead to laws that punish and condemn,
rather than provide care. The criminal laws are based on an outdated
understanding of the routes and risks of transmission which results in
insidious discrimination against people living with HIV and other stig-
matized diseases.

Repealing PHL §2307 updates New York's law to reflect today's under-
standing that responding to health care problems with carceral solutions
is ineffective, stigmatizing, and discriminatory.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Senate:

2025: S.4545A (Hoylman-Sigal)- Passed Senate
2023-2024: S.4603 (Hoylman-Sigal)- Passed Senate

Assembly:

2025: A733A (Gonzalez-Rojas): Died on Third Reading.

2023-2024: A.3347 (Gonzalez-Rojas): Died on Third Reading.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.