NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1113
SPONSOR: Seawright TITLE OF BILL:
An act establishing a commission to study the environmental and health
effects of evolving 5G technology; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon expiration thereof
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To study the environmental and potential health effects of 5G technolo-
gy.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 is the Legislative intent.
Section 2 establishes a temporary commission to study the environmental
and health effects of evolving wireless technology.
Section 3 establishes the membership of the commission which shall
consist of fifteen members including four individuals with an expertise
on issues related to 5G technology to be appointed by the temporary
president of the senate; four individuals with an expertise on issues
related to 5G technology, to be appointed by the speaker of the assem-
bly; one member from the public with expertise in the biological effects
of wireless radiation, to be appointed by the governor; one member
representing the business community, to be appointed by the governor;
one member of the state medical society who specializes in environmental
medicine, to be appointed by the governor; one member of the cell
phone/wireless technology 'industry, to be appointed by the governor;
the commissioner of the department of health, or his or her designee;
the chief information officer of the office of information technology
services, or his or her designee; and the commissioner of the department
of environmental conservation, or his or her designee. A chairperson
and vice-chairperson shall be elected by a majority of its members, all
members being present. Eight members shall constitute a quorum for the
purposes of conducting business.
Membership on the commission shall not constitute a public office and
members shall not receive compensation for their services but shall be
allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties.
Section 4 sets forth the duties and scope of inquiry of the commission
including to:
1. Examine the health and environmental impacts of exposure to wireless
radio frequency radiation emitted by waves in the 300 kilohertz (kHz) -
100 gigahertz. (GHz) range.
2. Assess the short and long-term health and environmental impacts of
exposure to 5G technology.
3. Receive testimony from the scientific community, the medical communi-
ty, wireless technology industry as well as other organizations and
members of the public with an interest in the deployment of 5G technolo-
gy.
4. Consider the questions set forth in section 4 and their impact on New
York state citizens.
Section 5 requires the commission to prepare and publish an interim and
final report of its findings and recommendations which report. The
report shall provide any recommendations for proposed legislation devel-
oped by the commission.
The commission shall submit the interim report to the speaker of the
assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the temporary president
of the senate, the minority leader of the senate and the governor on or
before June 1, 2022, and shall submit the final report to these offi-
cials on or before December 31, 2026. The commission shall disband thir-
ty days after submission of its final report.
Section 6 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The implementation of 5G networks has the potential to dramatically
change connectivity between humans and devices. 5G is expected to
increase the ability to support smart homes, smart highways, the deliv-
ery of health care and more. it is estimated that 5G's high speed waves
will be capable of distributing information up to 100 times faster than
the current LTE/4G networks.
However, there are concerns that the very high-frequency spectrum known
as millimeter wavelengths used in the deployment of 5G poses adverse
health effects for the public. Since these high-speed waves cannot trav-
el long distances, or through walls and other natural features, as
conventional LTE/4G waves can, to implement a 5G network, telecommuni-
cations companies will need to add hundreds of thousands of small cell
sites. These small cell towers will be deployed much closer to where
people live, work and go to school. The addition of these small cell
stations and higher frequency waves have raised serious questions about
the adverse effects of radiofrequency (RF) radiation which will be emit-
ted.
One recent study released in November 2018 by the National Toxicology
Program (NTP) an agency run by the Department of Health and Human
Services on cell phone radio frequency radiation (RFR,) found that high
exposure to 3G radio frequency radiation led to some cases of cancerous
heart tumors, brain tumors, and tumors in the adrenal glands of male
rats. While the NTP study was based on signal modulations used in 2G and
3G cell phones which are different than 5G, it highlights the need to
determine the potential health risks associated with the deployment of
5G.
This bill will establish a commission of experts in the field of tele-
communications, health and the environment to study the environmental
and health effects of this evolving technology, if any, and to make
recommendations as to how best to address them.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A6633 (Seawright) Referred to governmental operations
2021-22: A6448 (Abinati)/S. 5926(Kaplan) Referred to governmental oper-
ations/ Referred to internet and technology
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined. None to local governments.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed on December 31, 2026.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1113
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SEAWRIGHT, LEE -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT establishing a commission to study the environmental and health
effects of evolving 5G technology; and providing for the repeal of
such provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that fifth gener-
2 ation, or 5G, wireless technology is intended to greatly increase device
3 capability and connectivity. Therefore, the legislature finds a commis-
4 sion is needed to examine the advantages and risks associated with 5G
5 technology, with a focus on its environmental impact and potential
6 health effects on citizens of our state.
7 § 2. Commission. There is hereby established a temporary commission,
8 to be known as the "commission to study the environmental and health
9 effects of evolving 5G technology" (hereinafter "the commission"), for
10 the purpose of studying the environmental and health effects of evolving
11 wireless technologies, including fifth generation or "5G" technology,
12 including the use of earlier generation technologies.
13 § 3. Membership. (a) The commission shall consist of fifteen members
14 to be appointed as follows:
15 (1) Four individuals with an expertise on issues related to 5G tech-
16 nology, including, but not limited to an expertise in public health, the
17 environment, or the effects of wireless radiation, to be appointed by
18 the temporary president of the senate.
19 (2) Four individuals with an expertise on issues related to 5G tech-
20 nology, including, but not limited to an expertise in public health, the
21 environment, or the effects of wireless radiation, to be appointed by
22 the speaker of the assembly.
23 (3) One member from the public with expertise in the biological
24 effects of wireless radiation, to be appointed by the governor.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01023-01-5
A. 1113 2
1 (4) One member representing the business community, to be appointed by
2 the governor.
3 (5) One member of the state medical society who specializes in envi-
4 ronmental medicine and is familiar with electromagnetic radiation, to be
5 appointed by the governor.
6 (6) One member of the cell phone/wireless technology industry, to be
7 appointed by the governor.
8 (7) The commissioner of the department of health of the state of New
9 York or their designee.
10 (8) The chief information officer of the office of information tech-
11 nology services or their designee.
12 (9) The commissioner of the department of environmental conservation
13 or their designee.
14 (b) Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in
15 the manner provided for original appointments.
16 (c) A chair and vice-chair of the commission shall be elected by a
17 majority of its members, all members being present. Eight members of the
18 commission shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of conducting
19 business of the commission.
20 (d) The commission shall hold at least four public hearings in differ-
21 ent regions of the state which shall commence no later than 90 days
22 after the effective date of this act.
23 (e) Membership on the commission shall not constitute a public office.
24 (f) The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for
25 their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses
26 incurred in the performance of their duties pursuant to this act.
27 § 4. Duties and scope of inquiry. The commission shall:
28 (a) Examine the health and environmental impacts of exposure to wire-
29 less radio frequency radiation emitted by waves in the 300 kilohertz
30 (kHz) - 100 gigahertz (GHz) range.
31 (b) Assess the short and long-term health and environmental impacts of
32 exposure to 5G technology, which requires small cell antennas to be
33 placed in close proximity to each other at telephone pole height from
34 the ground and will operate in conjunction with the existing 3G and 4G
35 technology infrastructure.
36 (c) Receive testimony from the medical community including but not
37 limited to experts in public health, epidemiology and oncology, the
38 scientific community including but not limited to biologists, physicists
39 and electrical engineers, the wireless technology industry including but
40 not limited to, wireless manufacturers and purveyors, as well as other
41 organizations and members of the public with an interest in the deploy-
42 ment of 5G technology.
43 (d) Consider the following questions:
44 (1) What peer-reviewed human, animal and cell studies are available
45 and what do they show regarding the potential effects of pulsed wireless
46 radiation on biological systems, human health and behavior, or the envi-
47 ronment?
48 (2) What are other countries setting as wireless radiation human expo-
49 sure guidelines and how do they compare to such guidelines in the United
50 States?
51 § 5. Reporting. (a) The commission shall prepare and publish an
52 interim report and a final report of its findings and recommendations.
53 The reports shall provide any recommendations for proposed legislation
54 developed by the commission.
55 (b) The commission shall submit the interim report required under
56 subdivision (a) of this section to the speaker of the assembly, the
A. 1113 3
1 minority leader of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate,
2 the minority leader of the senate and the governor on or before June 1,
3 2026, and shall submit the final report required under subdivision (a)
4 of this section to the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of
5 the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, the minority leader
6 of the senate and the governor on or before December 31, 2026.
7 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
8 deemed repealed December 31, 2026.
