NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7791A
SPONSOR: Abinanti TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law and the educa-
tion law, in relation to authorizing schools to possess and administer
epinephrine auto-injectors in emergency situations
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To authorize schools and their employees to possess and administer auto-
injectable epinephrine without a prescription, in the event of an emer-
gency and to authorize schools to provide and maintain epinephrine auto-
injectors on school property.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends public health law section 3000-c(1)(a) to expand the
definition of "Eligible person, firm, organization, or other entity" to
include school districts, boards of cooperative educational services,
county vocational education and extension boards, charter schools, and
non-public elementary and secondary schools in this state or any person
employed by such entity.
Section 2 amends the education law by adding a new section 921 to:
1. Authorize school districts, boards of cooperative educational
services, county vocational education and extension boards, charter
schools and non-public elementary and secondary schools to provide and
maintain epinephrine auto-injectors on-site, in quantities and types
deemed by the commissioner of education in consultation with the commis-
sioner of health to be adequate, to ensure ready and appropriate access
for use during emergencies for any student or staff member having
anaphylactic symptoms whether or not there is a previous history of
severe allergic reaction.
2. Authorize school districts, boards of cooperative educational
services, county vocational education and extension boards, charter
schools, and non-public elementary and secondary schools, or any person
employed by such entity to administer epinephrine auto-injectors in the
event of any emergency so long as the individual or entity has completed
the appropriate training and the entity has a collaborative agreement
with a physician or hospital as required under public health law section
3000-c (2) and (3).
Section 3 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
According to the National Institutes of Health, the prevalence of food
allergies is between 6% and 9% in children younger than age four and
3.7% in adults, and appears to be increasing.
Allergic reactions can range from mild skin rashes to severe anaphylax-
is, which causes swelling of the airways and breathing difficulty. In
severe cases, it can lead to loss of consciousness or death.
The most common treatment for anaphylaxis is epinephrine, which often.
comes in the form of a pre-dosed auto-injector. Delays in the adminis-
tration of epinephrine to someone in anaphylaxis can result in rapid
decline and death.
As noted in an article in the New York Times on September 7, 2012, in
Massachusetts, where schools are permitted to administer epinephrine to
any student, 25% of students who had been given the drug for a reaction
did not previously know they had an allergy.
Currently New York State does not permit schools to administer epineph-
rine to students unless school authorities know about the allergy and a
doctor's prescription is on file. The timely administration of epineph-
rine to a child in anaphylaxis could mean the difference between life
and death. The life of a child should not be at risk because it is not
known the child has an allergy and does not have a prescription for
epinephrine.
This legislation. would permit school employees who have completed the
appropriate training to administer epinephrine auto-injectors to any
student or staff member in an emergency.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state. Schools that are eligible and decide to possess and
maintain auto-injectable epinephrine will need to purchase them. It is
unknown what price the schools will pay, but the cost to the general
public is approximately $125 per dose. The total cost will also depend
on the number of epinephrine auto-injectors determined to be needed by
the commissioner of health to ensure ready and appropriate access in an
emergency.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The act shall take effect one hundred twenty days after it becomes law;
however, the commissioner of education is authorized to promulgate rules
and regulations for the implementation of the act immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7791--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 4, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI, GOTTFRIED, MAYER, SIMANOWITZ, TITONE,
RAIA, NOJAY, CAHILL, GOODELL, GALEF, DiPIETRO, BUCHWALD -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, CLARK, HEVESI, JACOBS, McDONOUGH -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Health -- recommitted to the
Committee on Health in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to authorizing schools to possess and administer epinephrine auto-in-
jectors in emergency situations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 3000-c of the
2 public health law, as amended by chapter 350 of the laws of 2001, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (a) "Eligible person, firm, organization, or other entity" means, (i)
5 an ambulance service or advanced life support first response service; a
6 certified first responder, emergency medical technician, or advanced
7 emergency medical technician, who is employed by or an enrolled member
8 of any such service; (ii) a children's overnight camp as defined in
9 subdivision one of section thirteen hundred ninety-two of this chapter,
10 a summer day camp as defined in subdivision two of section thirteen
11 hundred ninety-two of this chapter, a traveling summer day camp as
12 defined in subdivision three of section thirteen hundred ninety-two of
13 this chapter or a person employed by such a camp; or (iii) school
14 districts, boards of cooperative educational services, county vocational
15 education and extension boards, charter schools, and non-public elemen-
16 tary and secondary schools in this state or any person employed by any
17 such entity; or (iv) any other person, firm, organization or entity
18 designated pursuant to regulations of the commissioner in consultation
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11334-03-4
A. 7791--A 2
1 with other appropriate agencies; and all subject to regulations of the
2 commissioner.
3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 921 to read
4 as follows:
5 § 921. On-site epinephrine auto-injector. 1. School districts, boards
6 of cooperative educational services, county vocational education and
7 extension boards, charter schools, and non-public elementary and second-
8 ary schools in this state may provide and maintain on-site in each
9 instructional school facility epinephrine auto-injectors in quantities
10 and types deemed by the commissioner, in consultation with the commis-
11 sioner of health, to be adequate to ensure ready and appropriate access
12 for use during emergencies to any student or staff having anaphylactic
13 symptoms whether or not there is a previous history of severe allergic
14 reaction.
15 2. School districts, boards of cooperative educational services, coun-
16 ty vocational education and extension boards, charter schools, and non-
17 public elementary and secondary schools in this state or any person
18 employed by any such entity may administer epinephrine auto-injectors in
19 the event of an emergency pursuant to the requirements of section three
20 thousand-c of the public health law.
21 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
22 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of
23 health, in consultation with the commissioner of education, may promul-
24 gate any rule or regulation necessary for the timely implementation of
25 this act on its effective date.
