STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7273--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN, ALVAREZ, REYES, SLATER,
SEAWRIGHT, ZACCARO, LEVENBERG, DAVILA, HYNDMAN, LUCAS, FORREST -- 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, in relation to establishing a
public awareness campaign for maternal depression; to amend the state
finance law, in relation to establishing the maternal depression fund;
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 25 of the public health law is amended by adding a
2 new title 7-A to read as follows:
3 TITLE VII-A
4 MATERNAL DEPRESSION
5 Section 2597. Public awareness campaign for maternal depression.
6 § 2597. Public awareness campaign for maternal depression. There is
7 hereby established within the department a maternal depression awareness
8 program to educate the public and maternal health care providers about
9 the risks and remedies associated with maternal depression.
10 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-n to
11 read as follows:
12 § 97-n. Maternal depression fund. 1. There is hereby established in
13 the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxa-
14 tion and finance a fund to be known as the "maternal depression fund".
15 2. The fund shall consist of all monies appropriated for its purpose,
16 and all moneys transferred to such fund pursuant to law, contributions
17 consisting of promises or grants of any money or property of any kind or
18 value, or any other thing of value, including grants or other financial
19 assistance from any agency of government and all moneys required by the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11049-04-6
A. 7273--A 2
1 provisions of this section or any other law to be paid into or credited
2 to this fund.
3 3. The moneys of the fund shall be made available to the department
4 of health for the purpose of implementing the provisions of title
5 seven-A of article twenty-five of the public health law.
6 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
7 the state comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commis-
8 sioner of health.
9 § 3. The sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) is hereby appro-
10 priated to the department of health out of any moneys in the state trea-
11 sury in the general fund to the credit of the state purposes account,
12 not otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available, for the
13 purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act. Such moneys shall be
14 payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certi-
15 fied or approved by the commissioner of health in the manner prescribed
16 by law.
17 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
