CLEARE, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, MAY, RIVERA, SALAZAR
MLTSPNSR
Add §507, amd §3305, Pub Health L
Establishes through the department of health a drug checking services program to allow individuals to bring drugs or controlled substances and have them tested for contaminants, toxic substances, or hazardous compounds; requires the department to establish public health surveillance of the unregulated drug supply; provides exemptions for participants in the drug checking program from certain controlled substance offenses.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
56--B
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. FERNANDEZ, CLEARE, JACKSON, MAY, RIVERA, SALAZAR --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- 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
drug checking program including requirements for enhanced drug check-
ing service delivery and public health surveillance
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
2 507 to read as follows:
3 § 507. Drug checking services program. 1. For purposes of this
4 section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Enhanced drug checking services" means the utilization of all
6 forms of drug testing equipment including complex technology or equip-
7 ment designed to analyze substances and provide results at point of
8 testing or point of care, which may include but is not limited to, chem-
9 ical screening devices such as infrared spectrophotometers, raman spec-
10 trophotometers, or ion mobility spectrometers.
11 (b) "Public health surveillance" means the continuous and systematic
12 collection, analysis, and interpretation of data needed for the plan-
13 ning, implementation, and evaluation of public health initiatives.
14 Public health surveillance may be used for the following purposes:
15 (i) as an early warning system for impending public health emergen-
16 cies;
17 (ii) to document the impact of an intervention;
18 (iii) to track progress towards specific goals;
19 (iv) to monitor and clarify the epidemiology of health outcomes; and
20 (v) to inform the public health policy and practices.
21 2. The department shall:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00379-12-5
S. 56--B 2
1 (a) establish a program to authorize a county or municipality or other
2 entity to provide enhanced drug checking services to assist individuals
3 in determining whether a drug or controlled substance contains contam-
4 inants, toxic substances, or hazardous compounds; and
5 (b) establish public health surveillance of the unregulated drug
6 supply to monitor trends and the impact on health outcomes and increase
7 public awareness of new substances in the unregulated drug supply.
8 3. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the
9 provision of enhanced drug checking services which shall include but not
10 be limited to:
11 (a) providing information and harm reduction advice to help individ-
12 uals make informed decisions about drug use;
13 (b) testing any drug or substance that an individual presents for
14 checking to ascertain the composition and likely identity of such drug
15 or substance;
16 (c) advising the individual who presented a drug or substance for
17 checking of the results of the testing;
18 (d) disposing of, or arranging for the disposal of, any sample of a
19 drug or substance used in testing and any drug or substance surrendered
20 by any individual for disposal; and
21 (e) if necessary, arranging for a sample of a drug or substance to be
22 tested by a department approved laboratory.
23 4. The department shall develop policies and procedures to:
24 (a) utilize enhanced drug checking technology for public health
25 surveillance;
26 (b) develop requirements for technician training to ensure accurate
27 point-of-testing and point-of-care results;
28 (c) identify appropriate equipment to use; and
29 (d) establish reporting processes.
30 5. Employees, contractors, and volunteers of the department, direc-
31 tors, managers, employees, contractors, and volunteers of an entity
32 providing drug checking services, owners of properties where drug check-
33 ing services occur, counties, municipalities or other entities author-
34 ized by the department, and individuals presenting drugs or substances
35 for checking, acting in the course and scope of employment or engaged in
36 good faith in the provision of enhanced drug checking services, in
37 accordance with established protocols, shall not be subject to:
38 (a) arrest, charges, or prosecution pursuant to article thirty-three
39 of this chapter or any violation or misdemeanor, including for attempt-
40 ing, aiding and abetting, or conspiracy to commit a violation or misde-
41 meanor pursuant to article two hundred twenty of the penal law; or
42 (b) a civil or administrative penalty or liability of any kind, or
43 disciplinary action by a professional licensing board, for conduct
44 relating to the provision of authorized drug checking services unless
45 such conduct was performed in a negligent manner or in bad faith.
46 6. The department and entities authorized by the department shall not
47 collect, maintain, use, or disclose any personal information relating to
48 an individual from whom the department or other authorized entity
49 receives any drug or substance for checking or disposal.
50 7. The result of any test carried out by the department or an author-
51 ized entity in relation to any drug or substance presented for checking
52 shall not be admissible as evidence in any criminal or civil proceedings
53 against the individual from whom the drug or substance was received,
54 unless submitted by such individual.
55 8. The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are
56 necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
S. 56--B 3
1 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 3305 of the public health law, as
2 amended by chapter 547 of the laws of 1981, paragraph (d) as amended by
3 chapter 635 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
4 1. The provisions of this article restricting the possession and
5 control of controlled substances and official New York state
6 prescription forms shall not apply:
7 (a) to common carriers or to [warehousemen] warehouse workers while
8 engaged in lawfully transporting or storing such substances, or to any
9 employee of the same acting within the scope of [his] their employment;
10 or
11 (b) to public officers or their employees in the lawful performance of
12 their official duties requiring possession or control of controlled
13 substances; or
14 (c) to temporary incidental possession by employees or agents of
15 persons lawfully entitled to possession, or by persons whose possession
16 is for the purpose of aiding public officers in performing their offi-
17 cial duties[.]; or
18 (d) to employees, contractors, and volunteers of the department,
19 directors, managers, employees, contractors, and volunteers of an entity
20 providing drug checking services authorized under section five hundred
21 seven of this chapter, owners of properties where such authorized drug
22 checking services occur, counties, municipalities, or other entities
23 authorized by the department, and individuals presenting drugs or
24 substances for checking, acting in the course and scope of employment or
25 engaged in good faith in the provision of authorized drug checking
26 services, in accordance with established protocols; or
27 (e) to a duly authorized agent of an incorporated society for the
28 prevention of cruelty to animals or a municipal animal control facility
29 for the limited purpose of buying, possessing, and dispensing to regis-
30 tered and certified personnel, ketamine hydrochloride to anesthetize
31 animals and/or sodium pentobarbital to euthanize animals, including but
32 not limited to dogs and cats. The department shall, consistent with the
33 public interest, register such duly authorized agent and such agent
34 shall file, on a quarterly basis, a report of purchase, possession, and
35 use of ketamine hydrochloride and/or sodium pentobarbital, which report
36 shall be certified by the society for the prevention of cruelty to
37 animals or municipal animal control facility as to its accuracy and
38 validity. This report shall be in addition to any other record keeping
39 and reporting requirements of state and federal law and regulation. The
40 department shall adopt rules and regulations providing for the registra-
41 tion and certification of any individual who, under the direction of the
42 duly authorized and registered agent of an incorporated society for the
43 prevention of cruelty to animals, or municipal animal control facility,
44 uses ketamine hydrochloride to anesthetize animals and/or sodium pento-
45 barbital to euthanize animals, including but not limited to dogs and
46 cats. The department may also adopt such other rules and regulations as
47 shall provide for the safe and efficient use of ketamine hydrochloride
48 and/or sodium pentobarbital by incorporated societies for the prevention
49 of cruelty to animals and animal control facilities. Nothing in this
50 paragraph shall be deemed to waive any other requirement imposed on
51 incorporated societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals and
52 animal control facilities by state and federal law and regulation.
53 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
54 subdivisions four and eight of section 507 of the public health law, as
55 added by section one of this act, shall take effect on the ninetieth day
56 after it shall have become a law.
