Bill Text: NY A07193 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Provides for the development of an environmental health tracking system within the department of health with cooperation from the departments of environmental conservation and labor; provides that the purpose is to gather various environmental data to correlate with disease data; requires the cooperation of the state university of New York schools of public health at Albany and Buffalo.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to health [A07193 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A07193-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7193

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     April 29, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, THIELE, HUNTER, BRAUNSTEIN, COLTON,
          LUPARDO, L. ROSENTHAL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GALEF --  read
          once and referred to the Committee on Health

        AN  ACT  to  amend the public health law, the environmental conservation
          law, the labor law and the education law, in relation to creating  the
          environmental health tracking system

          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  804 to read as follows:
     3    § 804. Environmental health tracking system.  1. The legislature finds
     4  and declares all of the following:
     5    a.    There currently exist several health and environmental databases
     6  maintained by the state. However, there is  little  or  no  coordination
     7  between  the  use and analysis of these data as they pertain to environ-
     8  mental health issues, or accessibility of this information by interested
     9  parties and researchers.  In its fight against chronic diseases, includ-
    10  ing birth defects, that are related to the environment, the  state  must
    11  give  communities and public health professionals solid, reliable infor-
    12  mation, which is the  most  basic  tool  with  which  to  undertake  the
    13  prevention of these diseases.
    14    b.  Analysis  of  available  data  used  to  track and monitor chronic
    15  diseases is critical to all of the following:
    16    (1) knowing where and how to put in place the most  effective  strate-
    17  gies to prevent diseases;
    18    (2)  assessing the contribution of diseases to disabilities and prema-
    19  ture mortality;
    20    (3) measuring the effectiveness of prevention strategies; and
    21    (4) generating hypotheses that may lead to  new  scientific  knowledge
    22  about the causes of, and most effective ways to fight, chronic diseases.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11078-01-1

        A. 7193                             2

     1    c.  State  government agencies, universities and their consultants are
     2  the appropriate and necessary institutions to examine  whether  or  not,
     3  and,  if  so,  the  extent  to which, past environmental exposures might
     4  increase the risk of chronic diseases, including, but  not  limited  to,
     5  birth  defects,  diabetes,  heart disease, thyroid disease, reproductive
     6  disorders, cancer, asthma and other respiratory conditions,  Parkinson's
     7  disease,  Alzheimer's  disease,  and  other  neurologically degenerative
     8  diseases.
     9    d. The initial investment to establish the environmental health track-
    10  ing system, including an analysis infrastructure to  develop  preventive
    11  strategies,  would  constitute  a  small fraction of the annual costs of
    12  controlling chronic diseases in the state.
    13    e. It is the intent of the legislature in creating  the  environmental
    14  health tracking system to form a public-private partnership to create an
    15  environmental health and tracking system to do all of the following:
    16    (1)  provide a continually updated database, with linkages to biomoni-
    17  toring information, information about exposures to  other  environmental
    18  agents,  disease  type  data  and  other data collected pursuant to this
    19  section, as well as linkages  to  databases  of  the  U.S.  centers  for
    20  disease  control  including  those  in  its natural environmental public
    21  health tracking program and in its behavioral risk factors database,  in
    22  order  to  assess  the  potential  impact  of environmental contaminants
    23  (defined as physical, chemical or biological agents) on the  human  body
    24  and to evaluate such in relation to established disease risk factors;
    25    (2)  on  an  ongoing  basis,  track  and evaluate a variety of chronic
    26  diseases in relation to environmental exposures, including state,  local
    27  and international data on actual incidences of chronic disease;
    28    (3) make such data available to the public in an accessible and useful
    29  format; and
    30    (4)  ultimately  provide such data to the relevant board, division, or
    31  office within the department, the department of environmental  conserva-
    32  tion,  the department of labor, the workers' compensation board, and the
    33  state university of New York schools of  public  health  at  Albany  and
    34  Buffalo for the development of appropriate preventive strategies.
    35    2.  a.  The environmental health tracking system is hereby established
    36  in the department. The purpose of such system shall be to monitor  envi-
    37  ronmental  exposures  and  chronic  diseases affecting New Yorkers.  The
    38  state university of New York schools of  public  health  at  Albany  and
    39  Buffalo  are  directed  to cooperate with the department in establishing
    40  the environmental health tracking system.
    41    b. The objectives of the environmental health tracking system  are  as
    42  follows:
    43    (1) to track and evaluate a variety of chronic diseases in relation to
    44  environmental exposures;
    45    (2)  to  allow  both  government  and  university investigators, their
    46  consultants and public health officials to assess the impact of environ-
    47  mental contaminants on the human body; and
    48    (3) to provide information to the department and to the department  of
    49  environmental conservation for the development of appropriate preventive
    50  strategies.
    51    c. To examine the relationships between chronic diseases and the envi-
    52  ronment,  using,  to  the  maximum  extent possible, existing health and
    53  environmental data, the commissioner, based upon the recommendations  of
    54  the working group required pursuant to this section, shall:
    55    (1)  on  an ongoing basis, survey a cross section of the overall popu-
    56  lation in the state, including, to the extent possible, regional data to

        A. 7193                             3

     1  assess geographic variation, including  chronically  ill  patients,  and
     2  their environmental exposures;
     3    (2) on a continuing and periodic basis, conduct science based biomoni-
     4  toring,  using  CDC validated, analytical protocols and CDC's guidelines
     5  and practices for ethical treatment of and communications of information
     6  to participants in biomonitoring programs, for a cross  section  of  the
     7  population,  including,  to the extent possible, regional data to assess
     8  geographic variation; and
     9    (3) on an ongoing basis, link data created by such surveys and biomon-
    10  itoring activities to other health and environmental databases, such  as
    11  birth  certificates,  neonatal  blood  tests, records of hospital admis-
    12  sions, records of emergency room visits and mortality data.
    13    3. On or before September first, two thousand twenty-one, the  depart-
    14  ment, in consultation with the department of environmental conservation,
    15  the department of labor, and the state university of New York schools of
    16  public  health  at  Albany  and Buffalo, shall create a working group of
    17  technical experts in public health, epidemiology,  biostatistics,  envi-
    18  ronmental  medicine,  risk  analysis, exposure assessment, developmental
    19  biology,  laboratory  sciences,  bioethics,  and  toxicology,  including
    20  experts  who have knowledge of the sensitivity and exposure of children,
    21  women of child-bearing age, seniors and disparately affected populations
    22  to environmental hazards, to do all the following:
    23    a. develop  possible  approaches  to  implementing  the  environmental
    24  health  tracking system, including an estimated cost and potential fund-
    25  ing alternatives for each approach;
    26    b. on or before September first, two  thousand  twenty-three,  prepare
    27  and  submit  a report to the department, the department of environmental
    28  conservation, the department of labor, the state university of New  York
    29  schools  of public health at Albany and Buffalo, the temporary president
    30  of the senate, the speaker of the  assembly,  the  chairpersons  of  the
    31  senate  and  assembly  environmental conservation committees, the chair-
    32  persons of the senate finance and assembly ways  and  means  committees,
    33  and the chairpersons of the senate and assembly health committees on the
    34  possible  approaches  to  implementing  an environmental health tracking
    35  system for the state; and
    36    c. determine the health and environmental criteria needed  to  examine
    37  the  relationship between chronic diseases, including birth defects, and
    38  the environment.
    39    4. The department and the state university  of  New  York  schools  of
    40  public  health  at Albany and Buffalo and their consultants are directed
    41  to cooperate in creating the working group pursuant to subdivision three
    42  of this section.
    43    5. On or before January first, two thousand twenty-four,  the  depart-
    44  ment  shall  adopt and implement the approach recommended by the working
    45  group that it determines most closely meets the  findings  and  require-
    46  ments  of  subdivision  one of this section, after opportunity for inde-
    47  pendent, scientific peer review and public comment.
    48    6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede any  confi-
    49  dentiality provisions of any law.
    50    §  2.  The  environmental  conservation law is amended by adding a new
    51  section 3-0320 to read as follows:
    52  § 3-0320. Environmental health tracking system.
    53    The department shall cooperate with state agencies, universities,  and
    54  their  consultants  to  provide  all  information and other relevant and
    55  necessary expertise to meet the requirements of  section  eight  hundred
    56  four of the public health law.

        A. 7193                             4

     1    §  3.  The labor law is amended by adding a new section 888 to read as
     2  follows:
     3    § 888. Environmental health tracking system. The board shall cooperate
     4  with  state agencies, universities, and their consultants to provide all
     5  information and other relevant  and  necessary  expertise  to  meet  the
     6  requirements of section eight hundred four of the public health law.
     7    §  4.  The  education  law is amended by adding a new section 355-e to
     8  read as follows:
     9    § 355-e. State university of New York  schools  of  public  health  at
    10  Albany  and Buffalo and their consultants to participate in the creation
    11  of the environmental health tracking system  working  group.  The  state
    12  university  of  New  York schools of public health at Albany and Buffalo
    13  and their consultants shall participate in the creation of the  environ-
    14  mental  health  tracking  system working group pursuant to section eight
    15  hundred four of the public health law.
    16    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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