Add 659, Fam Ct Act; add 837-x, Exec L; amd 3119 & 3102, CPLR; amd 140.10, add 570.19, CP L; amd 6531-b &
6505-d, Ed L; amd 230, Pub Health L; amd 3436-a, Ins L
Prohibits consideration of a law of another state that authorizes a child to be removed from their parent or guardian based on the parent or guardian allowing their child to receive gender-affirming care in custody cases; prohibits law enforcement agencies from cooperating with or providing information to any individual or out-of-state agency or department regarding the provision of lawful gender-affirming care performed in this state; prohibits the issuance of a subpoena in connection with certain out-of-state proceedings relating to seeking health or related information about people who come to New York to receive gender-affirming care; prohibits the arrest of a person for performing or aiding in the lawful performance of gender-affirming care within this state; relates to the extradition of gender-affirming care providers; relates to licensure of health care providers; prohibits insurance providers from taking adverse action against a health care provider who provides gender-affirming care.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2475--B
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 20, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, BROUK, COMRIE, COONEY, GIANARIS,
GOUNARDES, HINCHEY, JACKSON, KENNEDY, KRUEGER, LIU, MAY, MAYER, PARK-
ER, RAMOS, RIVERA, SEPULVEDA, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- reported favorably from said commit-
tee and committed to the Committee on Codes -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
AN ACT to amend the family court act, the executive law, the civil prac-
tice law and rules, the criminal procedure law, the education law, the
public health law and the insurance law, in relation to gender-affirm-
ing care
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The family court act is amended by adding a new section 659
2 to read as follows:
3 § 659. Consideration of law allowing gender-affirming care. 1. A law
4 of another state that authorizes a child to be removed from their parent
5 or guardian based on the parent or guardian allowing their child to
6 receive gender-affirming care shall not be enforced or applied in a case
7 pending in a court in this state.
8 2. No court in this state shall admit or consider a finding of abuse
9 based on the parent or guardian allowing their child to receive or seek
10 gender-affirming care as evidence in any proceeding with respect to that
11 parent or guardian and any of their children, unless such conduct would
12 constitute abuse under the laws of this state if it occurred in this
13 state.
14 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-x to
15 read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01793-09-3
S. 2475--B 2
1 § 837-x. Cooperation with certain out-of-state investigations. No
2 state or local law enforcement agency shall cooperate with or provide
3 information to any individual or out-of-state agency or department
4 regarding the provision, seeking, or assistance in provision or seeking
5 of lawful gender-affirming care performed in this state. Nothing in this
6 section shall prohibit the investigation of any criminal activity in
7 this state which may involve the performance of gender-affirming care
8 provided that no information relating to any medical procedure performed
9 on a specific individual may be shared with an out-of-state agency or
10 any other individual.
11 § 3. Section 3119 of the civil practice law and rules is amended by
12 adding a new subdivision (h) to read as follows:
13 (h) Subpoenas related to gender-affirming care. Notwithstanding any
14 other provisions of law, no court or county clerk shall issue a subpoena
15 under this section in connection with an out-of-state proceeding relat-
16 ing to any gender-affirming care which was legally performed, sought,
17 received, or supported in this state, unless such out-of-state proceed-
18 ing (1) sounds in tort or contract, or is based on statute, (2) is
19 actionable, in an equivalent or similar manner, under the laws of this
20 state, and (3) was brought by the patient who received the gender-af-
21 firming care, or the patient's legal representative.
22 § 4. Subdivision (e) of section 3102 of the civil practice law and
23 rules, as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read
24 as follows:
25 (e) Action pending in another jurisdiction. Except as provided in
26 section three thousand one hundred nineteen of this article, when under
27 any mandate, writ or commission issued out of any court of record in any
28 other state, territory, district or foreign jurisdiction, or whenever
29 upon notice or agreement, it is required to take the testimony of a
30 witness in the state, he or she may be compelled to appear and testify
31 in the same manner and by the same process as may be employed for the
32 purpose of taking testimony in actions pending in the state. The supreme
33 court or a county court shall make any appropriate order in aid of
34 taking such a deposition; provided that no order may be issued under
35 this section in connection with an out-of-state proceeding relating to
36 any abortion services or procedures or gender-affirming care which were
37 legally performed in this state, unless such out-of-state proceeding (1)
38 sounds in tort or contract, or is based on statute, (2) is actionable,
39 in an equivalent or similar manner, under the laws of this state, and
40 (3) was brought by the patient who received reproductive healthcare or
41 gender-affirming care, or the patient's legal representative.
42 § 5. Section 140.10 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding
43 a new subdivision 3-b to read as follows:
44 3-b. A police officer may not arrest any person for performing or
45 aiding in the performance of gender-affirming care within this state, or
46 in procuring or aiding in the procurement of gender-affirming care in
47 this state, if the gender-affirming care is performed in accordance with
48 the provisions of any other applicable law of this state.
49 § 6. The criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new section
50 570.19 to read as follows:
51 § 570.19 Extradition of gender-affirming care providers, seekers,
52 parents, guardians, and helpers.
53 No demand for the extradition of a person subject to criminal liabil-
54 ity that is in whole or part based on the alleged provision or receipt
55 of, support for, or any theory of vicarious, joint, several or conspira-
56 cy liability for gender-affirming care lawfully performed in New York
S. 2475--B 3
1 shall be recognized by the governor unless the executive authority of
2 the demanding state shall allege in writing that the accused was present
3 in the demanding state at the time of the commission of the alleged
4 offense, and that thereafter he, she or they fled from that state.
5 § 7. Subdivision 1 of section 6531-b of the education law is amended
6 by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
7 (c) "Gender-affirming care" means any type of care provided to an
8 individual to affirm their gender identity or gender expression;
9 provided that surgical interventions on minors with variations in their
10 sex characteristics that are not sought and initiated by the individual
11 patient are not gender-affirming care.
12 § 8. Subdivision 2 of section 6531-b of the education law, as added by
13 chapter 220 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
14 2. The performance, recommendation, or provision of any reproductive
15 health services or gender-affirming care, as defined in subdivision one
16 of this section, by a health care practitioner acting within their scope
17 of practice, for a patient who resides in a state wherein the perform-
18 ance, recommendation, or provision of such reproductive health services
19 or gender affirming-care is illegal, shall not, by itself, constitute
20 professional misconduct under this title, or title two-A of article two
21 of the public health law, or any other law, rule or regulation governing
22 the licensure, certification, or authorization of such practitioner, nor
23 shall any license, certification or authorization of a health care prac-
24 titioner be revoked, suspended, or annulled or otherwise subject to any
25 other penalty or discipline provided in the public health law or this
26 title solely on the basis that such health care practitioner performed,
27 recommended, or provided any such reproductive health services or
28 gender-affirming care for a patient who resides in a state wherein the
29 performance, recommendation, or provision of such reproductive health
30 services or gender-affirming care is illegal.
31 § 9. Subdivision 9-c of section 230 of the public health law, as added
32 by chapter 220 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
33 9-c. (a) Neither the board for professional medical conduct nor the
34 office of professional medical conduct shall charge a licensee, acting
35 within their scope of practice, with misconduct as defined in sections
36 sixty-five hundred thirty and sixty-five hundred thirty-one of the
37 education law, or cause a report made to the director of such office to
38 be investigated beyond a preliminary review as set forth in clause (A)
39 of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision ten of this section,
40 where such report is determined to be based solely upon the performance,
41 recommendation, or provision of any reproductive health services as
42 defined in section sixty-five hundred thirty-one-b of the education law,
43 or gender-affirming care for a particular patient by such licensee where
44 such patient resides in a state wherein the performance, recommendation
45 or provision of such reproductive health services or gender-affirming
46 care is illegal.
47 (b) When a licensee, acting within their scope of practice, and in
48 accordance with paragraph e of subdivision four of section sixty-five
49 hundred twenty-seven of the education law, performs, recommends or
50 provides any reproductive health services or gender-affirming care for a
51 patient who resides in a state wherein the performance, recommendation,
52 or provision of any such reproductive health services or gender-affirm-
53 ing care is illegal, such performance, recommendation, or provision of
54 such reproductive health services or gender-affirming care for such
55 patient, shall not, by itself, constitute professional misconduct. The
S. 2475--B 4
1 licensee shall otherwise abide by all other applicable professional
2 requirements.
3 § 10. Section 6505-d of the education law, as added by chapter 220 of
4 the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
5 § 6505-d. Evaluation of prior disciplinary history for authorization
6 to practice. An applicant seeking licensure, certification, or authori-
7 zation pursuant to this title who has been subject to disciplinary
8 action by a duly authorized professional disciplinary agency of another
9 jurisdiction solely on the basis of having performed, recommended, or
10 provided an abortion pursuant to section twenty-five hundred ninety-
11 nine-bb of the public health law, or gender-affirming care shall not be
12 denied such licensure, certification, or authorization, unless the
13 department determines that such action would have constituted profes-
14 sional misconduct in this state. Provided however, that nothing in this
15 section shall be construed as prohibiting the department from evaluating
16 the conduct of such applicant and making a determination to be licensed,
17 certified, or authorized to practice a profession under this title.
18 § 11. The section heading and subsection (a) of section 3436-a of the
19 insurance law, as amended by section 4 of part LL of chapter 57 of the
20 laws of 2023, are amended to read as follows:
21 Adverse action against legal reproductive health care or gender-af-
22 firming care. (a) Every insurer that issues or renews medical malprac-
23 tice insurance covering a health care provider licensed to practice in
24 this state shall be prohibited from taking any adverse action against a
25 health care provider solely on the basis that the health care provider
26 performs an abortion or provides reproductive health care or gender-af-
27 firming care that is legal in this state on someone who is from out of
28 the state. Such policy shall include health care providers who legally
29 prescribe abortion medication to out-of-state patients by means of tele-
30 health.
31 § 12. This act shall take effect immediately.
