•  Summary 
  •  
  •  Actions 
  •  
  •  Committee Votes 
  •  
  •  Floor Votes 
  •  
  •  Memo 
  •  
  •  Text 
  •  
  •  LFIN 
  •  
  •  Chamber Video/Transcript 

S03110 Summary:

BILL NOS03110
 
SAME ASSAME AS A06675
 
SPONSORMANNION
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add Art 11 Title V §§1180 - 1182, Pub Health L
 
Establishes the office of wastewater surveillance; creates a grant program; provides such office shall monitor wastewater testing and analyze wastewater test results; provides the grant program shall assist labs in conducting wastewater testing; establishes an advisory council which shall provide advice on: best practices for wastewater sampling, testing and test results analysis; the creation of standards and systems of reporting on wastewater surveillance; the creation of a dashboard; integrate wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 into the office of wastewater surveillance; and any topics deemed essential by the commissioner of health.
Go to top

S03110 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          3110
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    January 27, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen. MANNION -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to  establishing  the
          office  of  wastewater  surveillance and creating a grant program; and
          making an appropriation therefor

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Article 11 of the public health law is amended by adding a
     2  new title V to read as follows:
     3                                   TITLE V
     4                           WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE
     5  Section 1180. Office of wastewater surveillance.
     6          1181. Grant program.
     7          1182. Advisory council.
     8    § 1180. Office of wastewater  surveillance.  1.  The  commissioner  in
     9  conjunction  with  the  commissioner of environmental conservation shall
    10  establish an office within the department that shall monitor  wastewater
    11  surveillance including the testing and analysis of wastewater for public
    12  health.
    13    2. The office shall partner and coordinate with:
    14    (a) labs established pursuant to this article that as of the effective
    15  date  of  this  section,  are engaged in COVID-19 wastewater testing, in
    16  order to expand testing to include other pathogens; and
    17    (b) the state university of New York and other institutions of  higher
    18  learning  that  as of the effective date of this section, are engaged in
    19  wastewater surveillance.
    20    3. The office shall create a standardized system for  labs  to  report
    21  wastewater  test  results  and shall provide incentives for such labs to
    22  report accurate wastewater test results.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04993-01-3

        S. 3110                             2
 
     1    4. The office shall create an  online  public-facing  dashboard  where
     2  data from wastewater surveillance are published and such dashboard shall
     3  comply with the health insurance portability and accountability act.
     4    5. (a) The office shall prepare and submit a report within one year of
     5  the effective date of this section and annually thereafter to the gover-
     6  nor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly,
     7  minority leader of the senate, minority leader of the assembly, chair of
     8  the  senate  committee  on  health  and the chair of the assembly health
     9  committee of its policy recommendations based on the results from waste-
    10  water surveillance.
    11    (b) In the event that wastewater surveillance shows an abnormally high
    12  level of pathogens which is indicative  of  a  possible  community  wide
    13  infection  of  such  pathogen,  the  office shall notify and make policy
    14  recommendations to the governor, the temporary president of the  senate,
    15  the  speaker  of  the  assembly, minority leader of the senate, minority
    16  leader of the assembly, chair of the senate committee on health and  the
    17  chair of the assembly health committee as soon as practicable.
    18    §  1181. Grant program.  The commissioner shall establish and adminis-
    19  ter a grant program that shall assist labs established pursuant to  this
    20  article in conducting wastewater testing.
    21    §  1182. Advisory council. 1. The commissioner in conjunction with the
    22  commissioner of environmental conservation shall establish  an  advisory
    23  council, which shall provide advice on:
    24    (a)  best  practices  for  wastewater sampling, wastewater testing and
    25  analysis of wastewater test results;
    26    (b) the creation of standards and systems of reporting  on  wastewater
    27  surveillance;
    28    (c)  the creation of the dashboard established pursuant to subdivision
    29  four of section eleven hundred eighty of this title;
    30    (d) integrating wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 into  the  office
    31  of  wastewater  surveillance  established  pursuant  to  section  eleven
    32  hundred eighty of this title; and
    33    (e) any topics deemed essential by the commissioner.
    34    2. The advisory council shall consist of a minimum of five members and
    35  no more than nine members with  such  members  coming  from  public  and
    36  private  institutions  of  higher learning with experience in wastewater
    37  surveillance who shall be appointed by the commissioner  in  conjunction
    38  with  the commissioner of environmental conservation. Such members shall
    39  include, but not be limited to persons  who  have  a  background  and/or
    40  experience in the following fields:
    41    (a) microbiologist;
    42    (b) chemist;
    43    (c) environmental engineer;
    44    (d) epidemiologist; and
    45    (e) geographer.
    46    3.  Membership  on the advisory council shall be geographically repre-
    47  sentative of the state. The members shall serve three-year terms.    The
    48  chairperson  shall  be  selected  by majority vote of the members of the
    49  council. The council shall meet at the call of the commissioner, but  no
    50  less  than  four times per year. A majority of the members shall consti-
    51  tute a quorum.
    52    4. The members of the advisory council shall receive  no  compensation
    53  for  their services as members of the council, but each of them shall be
    54  allowed the necessary and actual expenses which he or she shall incur in
    55  the performance of his or her duties under this section. The  department

        S. 3110                             3

     1  shall  provide  staff  and support necessary for the advisory council to
     2  carry out its duties and responsibilities.
     3    5.  The advisory council shall convene its first meeting within forty-
     4  five days of the effective date of this section.
     5    6. The advisory council shall report its findings  to  the  office  of
     6  wastewater  surveillance  established pursuant to section eleven hundred
     7  eighty of this title within one year of its first meeting  and  annually
     8  thereafter.
     9    §   2.   The   sum  of  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars
    10  ($1,500,000), or so much thereof as may be available, is  hereby  appro-
    11  priated  to the department of health from any moneys in the state treas-
    12  ury in the general fund to the credit of the state purposes account, not
    13  otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available, for the purposes
    14  of establishing the  office  of  wastewater  surveillance  and  for  the
    15  creation of the grant program with an annual appropriation thereafter to
    16  be  determined by the commissioner of health. Such moneys shall be paya-
    17  ble on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified or
    18  approved by the commissioner of health in the manner prescribed by law.
    19    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
    20  sections  eleven  hundred  eighty  and  eleven hundred eighty-one of the
    21  public health law as added by section one of this act shall take  effect
    22  on the one hundred eightieth day after this act shall have become a law.
    23  Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
    24  or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
    25  tive date are authorized to be made on or before such date.
Go to top