STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5027
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 11, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON, MAGNARELLI, EACHUS -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring the
department of health to develop rules for all courts in New York state
to protect the court employees and the public from COVID-19
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 201 of the public health law is
2 amended by adding a new paragraph (z) to read as follows:
3 (z) develop rules, standards and guidelines for measures to be imple-
4 mented at every court in the state to protect the court employees and
5 the public from the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) includ-
6 ing, but not limited to: (i) protective barriers to be installed at the
7 judge's bench, the witness stand, the jury box and such other locations
8 as the department shall deem necessary; (ii) standards for social
9 distancing and the wearing of face coverings by court employees and by
10 members of the public participating in or watching court proceedings;
11 (iii) testing of all court employees after it is discovered that a court
12 employee or member of the public at the court facility has tested posi-
13 tive for COVID-19; (iv) quarantine of any court employee who has tested
14 positive and the requirement that said infected employee produce a nega-
15 tive test result before being allowed to return to work; and (v) such
16 other measures as the department may deem necessary or desirable.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02378-01-5
