NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7896A
SPONSOR: Gibson
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, the tax law and
the state finance law, in relation to providing for taxpayer gifts for
lupus education and prevention, and establishing the lupus education and
prevention fund and outreach program
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This bill establishes the lupus
education and prevention fund which will be financed by optional
contributions derived from a taxpayer check-off placed on all corporate
and personal income tax forms.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 describes the legislative
intent of the debilitating autoimmune disease called Lupus. Section 2
creates the lupus health care and wellness education and outreach
program within the Department of Health. Section 3 amends 207-(7) of the
public health law to allow for grants to be made to public or not-for-
profit entities within the health care and wellness education and
outreach programs.
Sections 4 and 5, adds new sections, 209-G and 630-b to the tax law,
respectively, to allow corporate and individual taxpayers the option to
contribute to the lupus education and prevention fund, via a tax check-
off on the tax return. Section 6, adds a new section, 97-jjjj, to the
state finance law, to establish the lupus education and prevention fund
under the joint custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance and
the state comptroller. Monies received into this fund will be used to
finance programs to educate the public about lupus.
 
JUSTIFICATION: Lupus, a disease a lot of people have never heard of,
is a serious, complex, debilitating autoimmune disease that can cause
inflammation and tissue damage to virtually any organ system in the
body. This bill provides a way to raise funds for an education and
prevention program by having a voluntarily taxpayer check-off on both
individual and corporate taxpayer tax forms. These funds will be used
for educate the public regarding this disease and to increase its aware-
ness.
This legislation is a revised version of Assembly Bill A. 8882-A which
passed both houses of the state Legislature only to be vetoed by then
Governor David Paterson on July 30, 2010. This legislation addresses the
concerns raised in the veto message by setting the effective date as one
year from enactment.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Legislation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:.None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7896--A
Cal. No. 269
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 20, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GIBSON, JAFFEE, CRESPO, CASTRO, SWEENEY, GUNTHER
-- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BOYLAND, P. RIVERA, ROBINSON, STEV-
ENSON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means --
advanced to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining
its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public health law, the tax law and the state finance
law, in relation to providing for taxpayer gifts for lupus education
and prevention, and establishing the lupus education and prevention
fund and outreach program
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 hereby finds the
2 following:
3 (a) Lupus is a serious, complex, debilitating autoimmune disease that
4 can cause inflammation and tissue damage to virtually any organ system
5 in the body, including the skin, joints, other connective tissue, blood
6 and blood vessels, heart, lungs, kidney, and brain.
7 (b) Lupus research estimates that approximately one and a half to two
8 million Americans live with some form of lupus; lupus affects women nine
9 times more often than men and eighty percent of newly diagnosed cases of
10 lupus develop among women of childbearing age.
11 (c) Lupus disproportionately affects women of color -- it is two to
12 three times more common among African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and
13 Native Americans and is generally more prevalent in minority populations
14 -- a health disparity that remains unexplained. According to the Centers
15 for Disease Control and Prevention the rate of lupus mortality has
16 increased since the late 1970s and is higher among older African-Ameri-
17 can women.
18 (d) The pain and fatigue associated with lupus can threaten people's
19 ability to live independently, make it difficult to maintain employment
20 and lead normal lives, and one in five people with lupus is disabled by
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11670-02-2
A. 7896--A 2
1 the disease, and consequently receives support from government programs,
2 including Medicare, Medicaid, social security disability, and social
3 security supplemental income.
4 (e) The estimated average annual cost of medical treatment for an
5 individual with lupus can range between ten thousand dollars and thirty
6 thousand dollars; for people who have the most serious form of lupus,
7 medical costs can greatly exceed this amount, causing a significant
8 economic, emotional and social burden to the entire family and society.
9 (f) More than half of the people with lupus suffer four or more years
10 and visit three or more physicians before obtaining a diagnosis of
11 lupus; early diagnosis of and commencement of treatment for lupus can
12 prevent or reduce serious organ damage, disability, and death.
13 (g) Despite the magnitude of lupus and its impact on individuals and
14 families, health professional and public understanding of lupus remains
15 low; only one of five Americans can provide even basic information about
16 lupus, and awareness of lupus is lowest among adults ages eighteen to
17 thirty-four -- the age group most likely to develop symptoms of lupus.
18 (h) Lupus is a significant national health issue that deserves a
19 comprehensive and coordinated response by state and federal governments
20 with involvement of the health care provider, patient, and public health
21 communities.
22 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 207 of the public health law is amended
23 by adding a new paragraph (i) to read as follows:
24 (i) The dangers of, including ways to prevent the incidence and sever-
25 ity of, lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease that can cause inflam-
26 mation and tissue damage to virtually any organ system in the body,
27 including the skin, joints, other connective tissue, blood and blood
28 vessels, heart, lung, kidney and brain, and which affects women, partic-
29 ularly women of color, in a disproportionate manner; provided that the
30 program shall include an advisory council under this section that shall
31 include representatives of people with lupus and their families and
32 health care providers who specialize in treating lupus, among others.
33 § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 207 of the public health law, as
34 amended by section 16 of part A of chapter 109 of the laws of 2010, is
35 amended to read as follows:
36 7. In addition to state funds appropriated for programs under this
37 section, the commissioner may accept grants from public or private
38 sources for these programs. The commissioner, in administering this
39 section, shall seek to coordinate the department's programs with other
40 public and private programs, and may undertake joint or cooperative
41 programs with other public or private entities, including making grants
42 (within amounts appropriated therefor and consistent with applicable
43 law) to public or not-for-profit entities.
44 § 4. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 209-H to read as
45 follows:
46 § 209-H. Gift for lupus education and prevention. A taxpayer in any
47 taxable year may elect to contribute to the support of the lupus educa-
48 tion and prevention fund. Such contribution shall be in any whole dollar
49 amount and shall not reduce the amount of the state tax owed by such
50 taxpayer. The commissioner shall include space on the corporate income
51 tax return to enable a taxpayer to make such contribution. Notwith-
52 standing any other provision of law, all revenues collected pursuant to
53 this section shall be credited to the lupus education and prevention
54 fund and shall be used only for those purposes enumerated in section
55 ninety-seven-llll of the state finance law.
A. 7896--A 3
1 § 5. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 630-c to read as
2 follows:
3 § 630-c. Gift for lupus education and prevention. An individual in any
4 taxable year may elect to contribute to the lupus education and
5 prevention fund. Such contribution shall be in any whole dollar amount
6 and shall not reduce the amount of state tax owed by such individual.
7 The commissioner shall include space on the personal income tax return
8 to enable a taxpayer to make such contribution. Notwithstanding any
9 other provision of law all revenues collected pursuant to this section
10 shall be credited to the lupus education and prevention fund and used
11 only for those purposes enumerated in section ninety-seven-llll of the
12 state finance law.
13 § 6. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-llll
14 to read as follows:
15 § 97-llll. Lupus education and prevention fund. 1. There is hereby
16 established in the joint custody of the commissioner of taxation and
17 finance and the comptroller, a special fund to be known as the "lupus
18 education and prevention fund".
19 2. Such fund shall consist of all revenues received by the department
20 of taxation and finance, pursuant to the provisions of section two
21 hundred nine-H and section six hundred thirty-c of the tax law, and all
22 other moneys appropriated, credited or transferred thereto from any
23 other fund or source pursuant to law. Nothing contained in this section
24 shall prevent the state from receiving grants, gifts or bequests for the
25 purposes of the fund as defined in this section and depositing them into
26 the fund according to law.
27 3. Monies of the fund shall be expended only for lupus education and
28 prevention projects. As used in this section, "lupus education and
29 prevention projects" means educational projects, including grants for
30 lupus education and prevention programs, which are approved by the
31 department of health.
32 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
33 the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner
34 of health.
35 5. To the extent practicable, the commissioner of health shall ensure
36 that all monies received during a fiscal year are expended prior to the
37 end of that fiscal year.
38 § 7. This act shall take effect on the three hundred sixty-fifth day
39 after it shall have become a law.