Relates to the disclosure of the list of practitioners registered to certify patients for the use of medical marihuana; provides that if the practitioner notifies the department in writing that he or she does not want his or her name and other information disclosed, such information shall not be provided on the website.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10123
SPONSOR: Peoples-Stokes (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
disclosure of the list of practitioners registered to certify patients
for the use of medical marihuana
PURPOSE:
To require that the name and other information relating to practitioners
registered to certify patients for medical marihuana be publically
available.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends section 3369 of the Public Health Law by adding a new
subdivision 4, paragraph (b), requiring that the name, contact informa-
tion, and other information relating to practitioners registered with
the department to certify patients for medical marihuana shall be public
information; requires that this information be maintained on the depart-
ment's website in searchable form; and allows practitioners to opt-out
in writing if they do not wish their information to be public.
Section 2: Effective 60 days after it becomes a law.
JUSTIFICATION:
Difficultly finding registered practitioners is a major obstacle for
patients who could benefit from medical use of marihuana. There are
approximately 600 physicians in New York registered to certify patients
for medical marihuana out of approximately 80,000 total physicians in
the state - but there is no publically available list of these 600. As a
result, severely ill patients are forced to cold-call doctor after
doctor in hopes of finding one, or try to find information through
social media or other potentially unreliable sources.
The sponsors of this bill believe current law requires disclosure of
this information, but DOH believes this is not correct. This bill would
make it clear that the public is entitled to this information.
This bill would require the names and contact information of registered
practitioners to be made available through a searchable database on the
department's website. Practitioners who do not wish to be listed may
opt-out by notifying the department in writing.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Sixty days after it becomes a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10123
IN ASSEMBLY
May 11, 2016
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES, GOTTFRIED -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to disclosure of the
list of practitioners registered to certify patients for the use of
medical marihuana
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 3369 of the public health law, as
2 added by chapter 90 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
3 4. (a) Certification applications, certification forms, any certified
4 patient information contained within a database, and copies of registry
5 identification cards shall be deemed exempt from public disclosure under
6 sections eighty-seven and eighty-nine of the public officers law.
7 (b) The name, contact information, and other information relating to
8 practitioners registered with the department under this title shall be
9 public information and shall be maintained by the commissioner on the
10 department's website accessible to the public in searchable form. Howev-
11 er, if a practitioner notifies the department in writing that he or she
12 does not want his or her name and other information disclosed, that
13 practitioner's name and other information shall thereafter not be public
14 information or maintained on the department's website, unless the prac-
15 titioner cancels the request.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect sixty days after it shall become a
17 law; provided that effective immediately: (a) the addition, amendment
18 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
19 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
20 completed on or before such effective date; and (b) practitioners may
21 make requests under paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 3369 of
22 the public health law, as added by section one of this act. Provided
23 further, that the amendments to subdivision 4 of section 3369 of the
24 public health law made by section one of this act shall not affect the
25 repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15399-01-6
