Bill Text: NY A03407 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the reporting of certain medical conditions to the department of health and the department of motor vehicles.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to health [A03407 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A03407-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3407 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 29, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, DICKENS, MOSLEY, WEPRIN, RIVERA, BLAKE, D'URSO, COOK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. DAVILA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law and the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring reporting of certain medical conditions to the department of health and the department of motor vehicles 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 article 2 20-B to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 20-B 4 REPORTING OF IMPAIRING AILMENTS 5 Section 2020. Definitions. 6 2021. Physicians and facilities; duty to report. 7 2022. Contents of report. 8 2023. Reporting by motorist. 9 2024. Duties of commissioner. 10 § 2020. Definitions. As used in this article: 11 1. "facility" shall mean any governmental or private agency, depart- 12 ment, institution, clinic, laboratory, hospital, nursing care facility, 13 health maintenance organization, association or other similar entity 14 that provides medical care. 15 2. "impairing ailment" shall mean any of the following: recurrent 16 convulsive seizures, recurrent period of unconsciousness or impairment, 17 or loss or impaired of motor coordination due to conditions such as, but 18 not limited to, epilepsy in any of its forms which persist or recur 19 despite medical treatment. 20 § 2021. Physicians and facilities; duty to report. An attending physi- 21 cian or a person representing or employed by a facility as defined by 22 the commissioner shall report the existence of an impairing ailment to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02400-01-9A. 3407 2 1 the department and the department of motor vehicles within twenty-four 2 hours of determining the existence of an impairing ailment. 3 § 2022. Contents of report. The report as set forth in section two 4 thousand twenty-one of this article shall be designated an impairing 5 ailment report and shall contain information which the commissioner 6 establishes as necessary to identify the patient suffering the impairing 7 ailment and investigate, including, but not limited to, the diagnosis, 8 current treatment, occurence, frequency, incidence, cause, effect and 9 prognosis of the impairing ailment. The report shall also include if the 10 patient is suffering chronically from the impairing ailment such that it 11 is unsafe for such patient to operate a motor vehicle. 12 § 2023. Reporting by motorist. When the commissioner or the commis- 13 sioner of motor vehicles becomes aware, upon information received or as 14 a result of an investigation conducted, that a licensed driver or appli- 15 cant for a learner's permit or driver's license suffers or has suffered 16 from an impairing ailment, such commissioners may require from such 17 person: 18 1. A statement by the applicant or licensee of his or her history of 19 impairing ailments; and 20 2. Any other information which such commissioners may deem necessary 21 to evaluate the applicant's or licensee's qualification to operate a 22 motor vehicle. 23 § 2024. Duties of commissioner. The commissioner shall promulgate 24 rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this article, 25 including but not limited to: 26 1. defining a person representing or employed by a facility; 27 2. establishing the form, content and manner of filing the impairing 28 ailment report; 29 3. prescribing the permissible uses for the information made available 30 pursuant to this article; 31 4. establishing procedures to maintain the confidentiality of informa- 32 tion provided to persons pursuant to this article; and 33 5. establishing, in conjunction with the commissioner of motor vehi- 34 cles, a method for an attending physician or a person representing or 35 employed by a facility as defined by the commissioner to report to the 36 department and the department of motor vehicles the existence of an 37 impairing ailment. 38 § 2. Section 510 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a 39 new subdivision 12 to read as follows: 40 12. a. Where the commissioner has received an impairing ailment report 41 pursuant to article twenty-B of the public health law, if the report 42 shows that the impairing ailment is a chronic impairment to driving, the 43 commissioner may suspend the license of the person afflicted with the 44 impairing ailment. 45 b. Any person sixteen years of age or older who suffers or who has 46 suffered from recurrent convulsive seizures, recurrent periods of 47 impaired consciousness, or from impairment or loss of motor coordination 48 due to a condition such as, but not limited to, epilepsy, in any of its 49 forms, shall, as a prerequisite to the issuance of a learner's permit or 50 driver's license, renewal of a driver's license, restoration of a driv- 51 er's license, or retention of a driver's license, establish to the 52 satisfaction of the commissioner that he or she has been free from 53 recurrent convulsive seizures, recurrent periods of impaired conscious- 54 ness, or from impairment or loss of motor coordination for a period of 55 six months with or without medication and that he or she is physically 56 qualified to operate a motor vehicle.A. 3407 3 1 c. If a driver's license or permit is denied, suspended, revoked, or 2 altered under this subdivision, the person has a right to appeal a deci- 3 sion of the commission. In order to appeal, a person must request a 4 formal hearing, in writing, from the commission within twenty-five days 5 of the decision. The request must include all disputed material facts 6 that the applicant/licensee or his or her attorney plans to raise at the 7 hearing. However, if the suspension or revocation of the license is a 8 result of a deadly accident, then the licensee has only ten days to 9 request a hearing and licensee has fifteen days in which to file an 10 exception to an adverse decision with the commission. The commission's 11 decision is final, and may be appealed to the supreme court appellate 12 division within forty-five days. 13 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.