Assembly Health Committee Passes 15 Bills - February 6, 2007

The Assembly Committee on Health, chaired by Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried, reported the following bills at its meeting today. Please contact a bill's sponsor, listed after the bills description, for more information.

• A.850 - Authorizes funding for breast cancer mapping from the Breast Cancer Research and Education. Requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to include product name and active ingredient in their annual report on pesticide sales and use. (Englebright)

• A.885 - The Public University Emergency Contraception Act. Requires SUNY and CUNY campuses that have on-site health clinics to stock emergency contraception, and provide it to students upon request. (Englebright)

• A.1205 - Requires the consideration of past labor relations problems when granting, renewing or revoking operating certificates for hospitals, nursing homes, HMOs, and health care services agencies. (Gantt)

• A.1206-A - Requires that a qualified nurse be present in an operating room for the duration of the operative procedure. (Gunther)

• A.1223 - Adjusts Medicaid rates for certain home care workers in counties that have passed a living wage law. (Paulin)

• A.1301 - Removes asset depreciation from the gross family income of a self-employed farmer for purposes of determining eligibility for Family Health Plus. (Aubertine)

• A.1313 - Increases to 10, from 5, the number of hospital transitional care unit demonstration projects, for patients that no longer need acute care hospital services but are difficult to place in a nursing home. (Eddington)

• A.1332 - Requires tobacco companies to disclose the added chemicals, nicotine yield ratings and toxic constituents used in the manufacture of their products. (Grannis)

• A.1401 - Prohibits the testing of cosmetic products in an animal's eye or on its skin to measure its irritating effects, and prohibits the sale of cosmetic products tested on animals. (Grannis)

• A.2177 - Allows health care providers to enter into collective negotiations with health care plans on issues related to practice and payment polices. (Canestrari)

• A.2273 - Taxpayer "check-off" for colon cancer research. (Jacobs)

• A.2277 - Allows adopted individuals who have turned 18 to obtain their original birth certificates and medical histories. Provides clarifying language and procedures for such process. (Koon)

• A.2279 - Requires schools to test their tap water for lead and copper levels annually, with public disclosure of any contamination found, including plans for abatement of such contamination. (McEneny)

• A.2502 - Creates the Community Food Security, Empowerment and Economic Development program to help meet the food need of low-income people and promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm and nutrition issues. Grants would be available to non-profit organizations and local governments. (Cook)

• A.2569 - Requires food service establishments where latex gloves are used in the preparation of food to post notice of such use. This would alert consumers who are allergic to latex of their risk of exposure. (Bradley)

The Committee on Health is scheduled to meet again at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 in Room 823 of the Legislative Office Building. Please note that all committee meetings are subject to change. Please check time and location before the meeting.