Amd §4141, Pub Health L; amd §677, County L; add §837-y, Exec L; add §139-m, St Fin L
Prohibits the use of the term "excited delirium" as a diagnosis, label, or cause of death on death certificates, autopsy reports, police reports or any report, policy or procedure by a public agency or contractor; defines excited delirium.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1714
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 13, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. BROUK, BRISPORT, GIANARIS, RAMOS, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA
-- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, the county law, the executive law
and the state finance law, in relation to prohibiting the use of the
term excited delirium as a diagnosis, label, or cause of death
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 4141 of the public health law is
2 amended by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
3 (e) No death certificate shall cite excited delirium as a diagnosis,
4 label, cause of death, or contributing factor to any death. For the
5 purposes of this paragraph, the term "excited delirium" shall mean a
6 term used to describe a person's state of agitation, excitability, para-
7 noia, extreme aggression, physical violence, and apparent immunity to
8 pain that is not listed in the most current version of the Diagnostic
9 and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or for which the court finds
10 there is insufficient scientific evidence or diagnostic criteria to be
11 recognized as a medical condition. Excited delirium also includes
12 excited delirium syndrome, excited delirium, hyperactive delirium,
13 agitated delirium, and exhaustive mania.
14 § 2. Section 677 of the county law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
15 sion 2-a to read as follows:
16 2-a. No report of any autopsy or other examination shall cite excited
17 delirium as a cause or means or manner of death. For the purposes of
18 this subdivision, the term "excited delirium" shall mean a term used to
19 describe a person's state of agitation, excitability, paranoia, extreme
20 aggression, physical violence, and apparent immunity to pain that is not
21 listed in the most current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical
22 Manual of Mental Disorders, or for which the court finds there is insuf-
23 ficient scientific evidence or diagnostic criteria to be recognized as a
24 medical condition. Excited delirium also includes excited delirium
25 syndrome, excited delirium, hyperactive delirium, agitated delirium, and
26 exhaustive mania.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02051-01-5
S. 1714 2
1 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-y to
2 read as follows:
3 § 837-y. Prohibition of use of excited delirium. 1. No report by a law
4 enforcement officer or peace officer shall reference excited delirium in
5 such report.
6 2. No law enforcement officer or peace officer shall take any action
7 with respect to an individual in response to such individual being diag-
8 nosed or labeled as having or being in a state of excited delirium. No
9 training shall be provided that requires, encourages, or permits any
10 action in response to an individual being diagnosed or labeled as having
11 or being in a state of excited delirium.
12 3. For the purposes of this section, "excited delirium" shall mean a
13 term used to describe a person's state of agitation, excitability, para-
14 noia, extreme aggression, physical violence, and apparent immunity to
15 pain that is not listed in the most current version of the Diagnostic
16 and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or for which the court finds
17 there is insufficient scientific evidence or diagnostic criteria to be
18 recognized as a medical condition. Excited delirium also includes
19 excited delirium syndrome, excited delirium, hyperactive delirium,
20 agitated delirium, and exhaustive mania.
21 § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 139-m to
22 read as follows:
23 § 139-m. Prohibition of use of excited delirium. 1. As used in this
24 section:
25 (a) "Contractor" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation,
26 association, company, organization or other similar entity, or any
27 combination thereof, including any subcontractor thereof, that employs
28 employees to perform work pursuant to an agreement with a public agency.
29 (b) "Public agency" means the state, and any department, agency,
30 board, bureau, commission, division, council or office of the state or
31 any political subdivision thereof, as defined in section one hundred of
32 the general municipal law, a municipal corporation as defined in section
33 sixty-six of the general construction law and any district thereof, a
34 public benefit corporation, or local or state authority as defined in
35 section two of the public authorities law, and any other entity author-
36 ized and empowered to enter into any contract or arrangement to conduct
37 economic development activity on behalf of any such public agency.
38 (c) "Excited delirium" means a term used to describe a person's state
39 of agitation, excitability, paranoia, extreme aggression, physical
40 violence, and apparent immunity to pain that is not listed in the most
41 current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
42 Disorders, or for which the court finds there is insufficient scientific
43 evidence or diagnostic criteria to be recognized as a medical condition.
44 Excited delirium also includes excited delirium syndrome, excited deli-
45 rium, hyperactive delirium, agitated delirium, and exhaustive mania.
46 2. No employee of a public agency or contractor or employee of a
47 contractor shall issue a diagnosis of excited delirium, report excited
48 delirium as a cause of death or a contributing factor to a death, or
49 conduct any trainings or share materials attesting to the validity of
50 excited delirium as a cause of death.
51 3. No public agency or contractor shall adopt or maintain any policy
52 or procedure, including but not limited to police manuals and trainings,
53 that acknowledges the validity of the diagnosis, cause of death, or
54 label of excited delirium.
55 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
