Direct the commissioner of environmental conservation to establish a New York mosquito surveillance task force to study and assess the future of mosquito surveillance in the state; directs a plan to be submitted after one year of effectiveness; directs counties to develop and submit plans of action to begin, continue, or expand mosquito surveillance.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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10393
IN SENATE
May 15, 2026
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Introduced by Sen. ASHBY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to enact the "New York mosquito surveillance act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "New York mosquito surveillance act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that it is
4 in the public interest to have a comprehensive mosquito surveillance
5 program in the state, rather than a piece-meal approach. In order to
6 best create the program, the legislature first wants to establish a
7 year-long task force to study, evaluate and develop budgeting and other
8 recommendations relating to specific actionable measures needed to
9 implement integrated state-wide mosquito surveillance.
10 § 3. New York mosquito surveillance task force. 1. The commissioner of
11 environmental conservation, in coordination with the commissioner of
12 health, is hereby authorized to establish the New York mosquito surveil-
13 lance task force to study and assess the future of mosquito surveillance
14 in the state.
15 2. Such task force shall consist of thirteen members with demonstrated
16 expertise in issues relating to the work of the task force. The members
17 of the task force shall be appointed as follows:
18 (a) seven members shall be appointed by the governor. The seven
19 members appointed by the governor shall include: the commissioner of
20 health, or their designee; the commissioner of environmental conserva-
21 tion, or their designee; the commissioner of agriculture and markets, or
22 their designee; the chancellor of the state university of New York, or
23 their designee; the commissioner of the New York city department of
24 health, or their designee; the director of the Wadsworth center, or
25 their designee; and a representative from the state university of New
26 York's college of environmental science and forestry;
27 (b) two members shall be appointed by the temporary president of the
28 senate;
29 (c) two members shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15914-01-6
S. 10393 2
1 (d) one member shall be appointed by the senate minority leader; and
2 (e) one member shall be appointed by the assembly minority leader.
3 3. The task force shall:
4 (a) study and report on current mosquito surveillance locations
5 throughout the state, including but not limited to their costs, methods
6 of surveillance, length of monitoring season in relation to transmission
7 season, the number of traps used per site, types of traps and bait,
8 which habitats are being targeted, which species of mosquitoes are being
9 targeted and which are captured, trap counts, and collection schedule;
10 (b) identify current best practices in mosquito surveillance that are
11 being executed in the state, as well as the gaps in the current surveil-
12 lance;
13 (c) review current data reporting methods for mosquito monitoring and
14 laboratory results and identify best practices or make recommendations
15 for improvement;
16 (d) document other surveillance models that work well in other states
17 and evaluate if New York state should adopt such models;
18 (e) explore and document how to expand surveillance to encompass each
19 county located in the state;
20 (f) determine the different variables to expand surveillance in each
21 county including but not limited to the costs, any barriers, implementa-
22 tion schedule, staffing considerations, administration, number of
23 surveillance sites, additional biosafety level 3 laboratories that could
24 be used for testing if necessary, and other testing considerations;
25 (g) record current revenue sources for surveillance, and where gaps
26 exist; and
27 (h) report on possible future revenue sources within the state finan-
28 cial plan, and explore cost-saving methods for counties, including but
29 not limited to, county partnerships or coordinating with the state
30 university of New York.
31 4. The task force shall meet at least quarterly for one year following
32 the effective date of this act. No later than ninety days after the
33 final task force meeting, a report shall be submitted by the task force
34 to the governor and legislature. Such report shall provide its findings
35 and recommendations, including timelines and actionable measures, to
36 implement integrated state-wide mosquito surveillance.
37 § 4. County plans of action. Within one year of the task force report
38 being filed pursuant to subdivision four of section three of this act,
39 each county in the state shall submit a plan of action to begin, contin-
40 ue, or expand mosquito surveillance. Such plans shall be submitted to
41 the department of health, and the department of health shall promulgate
42 all rules and regulations necessary. Each county in the state shall
43 begin its plan of action within six months of submission pursuant to
44 this section, or by the start of the next mosquito season, or whichever
45 time period is longer.
46 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
