Amd §§3302 & 3390, add §3395, Pub Health L; amd §6530, Ed L
Relates to prohibiting supervised injection sites; provides that it shall be unlawful for any person to own, operate, work in or volunteer at a supervised injection site; defines terms and establishes penalties.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5336
SPONSOR: Flood TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to prohibiting supervised injection sites
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Defines and prohibits supervised injection sites.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section I: amends section 3302 of the public health law by adding a new
subdivision 44 to read as follows: 44. (a) Supervised injection site
means a facility or institution that:
i. allows addicts, ultimate users or other individuals to possess and
use controlled substances; or ii. allows a practitioner to dispense or
administer controlled substances to addicts, ultimate users or other
individuals; and iii. is supervised by trained medical personnel such as
physicians, physicians assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, psychol-
ogists, social workers, mental health counselors or other trained
medical professionals as defined in title 8 of the education law. (b)
Supervised injection site shall not include: i. an opioid treatment
program; or ii. a substance abuse program, chemical dependence services
program, or behavioral health services program certified, licensed,
funded or operated by the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
Services. Section II: amends the public health law by adding a new
section 3398 to read as follows, it shall be unlawful for any person to
own, operate, work in or volunteer at a supervised injection site.
Section III: amends section 3390 of the public health law by adding a
new subdivision 7 to read as follows, willfully owned or operated a
supervised injection site. Section IV: amends section 6530 of the
education law by adding a new subdivision fifty to read as follows, a
violation of section 3398 of the public health law by a professional.
Section V: states act shall take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
While harm reduction is important in combating the devastating heroin
and opioid epidemic, there is not sufficient evidence that supervised
injection sites will help those suffering from a substance use disorder
get the treatment they need. In 2022, California's governor vetoed a
bill that would have allowed several pilot program injection sites to be
established. His veto message cited the fact that there is not enough
known about "safe injection sites" to justify the experimental programs
proposed at this time, and that there could be serious "unintended
consequences." Allowing so-called "safe injection sites" amounts to
normalizing serious and dangerous drug use as a harm reduction strategy
when the true impacts of such sites on the patients and community is
unclear, from the little data available from existing pilot projects.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: S.1940 - Referred to Health
2019-20: A.4940/S.550 - Referred to Health
2017-18: 5.8975 - Referred to Rules
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5336
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 7, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FLOOD -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to prohibiting supervised injection sites
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3302 of the public health law is amended by adding
2 a new subdivision 42 to read as follows:
3 42. (a) "Supervised injection site" means a facility or institution
4 that:
5 (i) allows addicts, ultimate users or other individuals to possess and
6 use controlled substances; or
7 (ii) allows a practitioner to dispense or administer controlled
8 substances to addicts, ultimate users or other individuals; and
9 (iii) is supervised by trained medical personnel such as physicians,
10 physicians assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, psychologists,
11 social workers, mental health counselors or other trained medical
12 professionals as defined in title eight of the education law.
13 (b) Supervised injection site shall not include:
14 (i) an opioid treatment program; or
15 (ii) a substance abuse program, chemical dependence services program,
16 or behavioral health services program certified, licensed, funded or
17 operated by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services.
18 § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 3395 to
19 read as follows:
20 § 3395. Supervised injection sites unlawful. It shall be unlawful for
21 any person to own, operate, work in or volunteer at a supervised
22 injection site.
23 § 3. Subdivisions 5 and 6 of section 3390 of the public health law, as
24 added by chapter 878 of the laws of 1972, are amended and a new subdivi-
25 sion 7 is added to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09225-01-3
A. 5336 2
1 5. failed to maintain effective control against diversion of
2 controlled substances; [or]
3 6. wilfully and unreasonably refused to permit an inspection author-
4 ized by this article[.]; or
5 7. wilfully owned or operated a supervised injection site.
6 § 4. Section 6530 of the education law is amended by adding a new
7 subdivision 51 to read as follows:
8 51. A violation of section thirty-three hundred ninety-five of the
9 public health law by a professional.
10 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
