Bill Text: NY A09632 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to protecting medically important antimicrobials for human public health.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-28 - referred to higher education [A09632 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A09632-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9632

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 28, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Higher Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation
          to protecting medically  important  antimicrobials  for  human  public
          health

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Legislative findings. The  legislature  declares  that  the
     2  overuse and misuse of medically important antimicrobials poses a serious
     3  public health threat.
     4    The World Health Organization has stated that "without urgent, coordi-
     5  nated  action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-anti-
     6  biotic era, in which common infections and  minor  injuries  which  have
     7  been treatable for decades can once again kill." In 2016, members of the
     8  UN  General  Assembly adopted a political declaration acknowledging that
     9  "the resistance of bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal microorganisms
    10  to antimicrobial medicines that were previously effective for  treatment
    11  of  infections  is mainly due to: the inappropriate use of antimicrobial
    12  medicines in public health, animal, food,  agriculture  and  aquaculture
    13  sectors;  ...  resistance to antibiotics, which are not like other medi-
    14  cines ... is  the  greatest  and  most  urgent  global  risk,  requiring
    15  increased  attention  and  coherence  at the international, national and
    16  regional levels."
    17    The legislature further finds that overuse  and  misuse  of  medically
    18  important antimicrobials in livestock production is a significant compo-
    19  nent of the threat posed. The United States Food and Drug Administration
    20  and  the  Centers  for  Disease  Control and Prevention have stated that
    21  there is a definitive link between the routine use of  medically  impor-
    22  tant  antimicrobials  on industrial farms and the crisis of antimicrobi-
    23  al-resistant infections in humans.
    24    The issue of antimicrobial misuse and overuse, whether  in  people  or
    25  animals, is a significant and urgent public health matter.
    26    It  has been estimated that seventy percent of all antimicrobials sold
    27  in the United States are for use in  food-producing  animals,  often  to

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11330-09-9

        A. 9632                             2

     1  compensate  for  the effects of unsanitary and overcrowded conditions on
     2  farms.
     3    Many  of  the  antimicrobials  provided  to food-producing animals are
     4  identical to, or from the same class as, drugs used in human medicine to
     5  treat serious conditions (i.e., medically important drugs). Thus,  anti-
     6  microbial-resistant  bacteria that emerge and spread from food-producing
     7  animals in farm settings to infect humans can be very dangerous  because
     8  the  antibiotics  usually  used to treat the infections in humans may no
     9  longer be effective against them.
    10    The legislature further finds that,  as  with  any  use  of  medically
    11  important antimicrobials in animals, such use must be closely supervised
    12  by a New York state licensed veterinarian or those veterinarians author-
    13  ized  to  practice  within  the state. Moreover, that it is the licensed
    14  veterinarian who must ensure that the use of medically important antimi-
    15  crobials is appropriate and necessary.
    16    The legislature therefore intends to place appropriate restrictions on
    17  the misuse and overuse of medically important  antimicrobials  in  food-
    18  producing animals by ensuring that veterinarians have the clear authori-
    19  ty to control the use of medically important antimicrobials in food-pro-
    20  ducing  animals in New York state and that their practices are following
    21  the best scientific evidence.
    22    The purpose of this act is to protect public health by preserving  the
    23  effectiveness  of  medically important antimicrobials now and for future
    24  generations by eliminating the use of those medicines in  food-producing
    25  animals for disease prevention, resulting in a reduction in the rise and
    26  spread  of  antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and antimicrobial-resistant
    27  infections in humans.
    28    § 2. The education law is amended by adding a  new  article  135-A  to
    29  read as follows:
    30                                ARTICLE 135-A
    31                   COMBATING ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE ACT
    32  Section 6720. Short title.
    33          6721. Definitions.
    34          6722. Prohibition of certain antimicrobial administration.
    35          6723. Authorization of certain antimicrobial administration.
    36          6724. Annual reports.
    37          6725. Antimicrobial stewardship guidelines.
    38          6726. Implementation.
    39          6727. Authority to receive Veterinary Feed Directives.
    40          6728. Violations.
    41    §  6720.  Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
    42  "combating antimicrobial resistance act of 2019."
    43    § 6721. Definitions. As used in this section:
    44    1. "Antimicrobial" means any substance of natural, semi-synthetic,  or
    45  synthetic  origin  that  at in vivo concentrations kills or inhibits the
    46  growth of microorganisms by interacting with a specific target. The term
    47  antimicrobial is a collective for antiviral, antibacterial,  antifungal,
    48  antiparasitic, and antiprotozoal agents.
    49    2.  "Antimicrobial  class"  means  antimicrobial  agents  with related
    50  molecular structures, often with a similar mode  of  action  because  of
    51  interaction  with  a  similar target and thus subject to a similar mech-
    52  anism of resistance.
    53    3. "Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)" means the ability of a microorgan-
    54  ism to multiply or persist in the presence of an increased level  of  an
    55  antimicrobial  relative  to  the  susceptible  counterpart  of  the same
    56  species.

        A. 9632                             3

     1    4. "Disease control" means administration of antimicrobial agents to a
     2  group of animals containing sick and healthy individuals (presumed to be
     3  infected), to minimize or resolve clinical signs of  infectious  disease
     4  and to prevent further spread of the disease.
     5    5.  "Disease  prevention" means administration of antimicrobial agents
     6  to an individual or a group of animals at risk of acquiring  a  specific
     7  infection  or in a specific situation where infectious disease is likely
     8  to occur if the antimicrobial agent is not administered.
     9    6. "Disease treatment" means administration of antimicrobial agents to
    10  an individual or group of animals showing clinical signs  of  infectious
    11  disease or that test positive for a disease.
    12    7. "Food-producing animal" means:
    13    (a)  All cattle, swine, or poultry, regardless of whether the specific
    14  animal is raised for the purpose of producing food  for  human  consump-
    15  tion; or
    16    (b)  Any  animal  of  a  type  that  the department of agriculture and
    17  markets identifies by rule as livestock typically used to  produce  food
    18  for human consumption, including aquatic and amphibian species.
    19    8. "Livestock producer" means a person raising a food-producing animal
    20  for commercial purposes.
    21    9.  "Medically  important antimicrobial" means a drug that is composed
    22  in whole or in part of:
    23    (a) A form of  the  antibiotic  classes  of  penicillin,  tetracyline,
    24  macrolide,  lincosamide,  streptogramin, aminoglycoside, sulfonamide, or
    25  cephalosporin; or
    26    (b) A drug from an antimicrobial class that is  categorized  as  crit-
    27  ically  important,  highly  important,  or important in the World Health
    28  Organization list of Critically Important Antimicrobials for Human Medi-
    29  cine (5th Revision, 2016), or a subsequent revision or  successor  docu-
    30  ment  issued by the World Health Organization that is recognized by rule
    31  by the department of health.
    32    10. "Veterinary Feed Directive" has the same definition as in  section
    33  558.3 of title 21 of the code of federal regulations.
    34    §  6722.  Prohibition of certain antimicrobial administration.  Begin-
    35  ning January first, two thousand twenty, medically important  antimicro-
    36  bials  shall  not  be  administered  to  a  food-producing animal unless
    37  ordered by a licensed veterinarian who has visited  the  farm  operation
    38  within  the  previous  six  months, through a prescription or Veterinary
    39  Feed Directive, pursuant to a  veterinarian-client-patient  relationship
    40  that  meets  the requirements as defined by the New York state office of
    41  professions.
    42    § 6723. Authorization  of  certain  antimicrobial  administration.  1.
    43  Beginning  January  first, two thousand twenty, a livestock producer may
    44  provide a medically important antimicrobial to a  food-producing  animal
    45  only  if  a licensed veterinarian, in the exercise of professional judg-
    46  ment, determines that the provision of the medically  important  antimi-
    47  crobial to the animal is necessary:
    48    (a) To control the spread of a disease or infection;
    49    (b) To treat a disease or infection; or
    50    (c) In relation to surgical or other medical procedures.
    51    2. Medically important antimicrobials shall not be administered by any
    52  person  to  food-producing  animals solely for the purposes of promoting
    53  weight gain, improving feed efficiency, or disease prevention.
    54    3. A veterinarian who determines that the  provision  of  a  medically
    55  important  antimicrobial  to  a food-producing animal is necessary for a

        A. 9632                             4

     1  purpose described in this section shall specify  an  end  date  for  the
     2  provision of the antimicrobial to the animal.
     3    4.  A  livestock producer may administer a medically important antimi-
     4  crobial to a food-producing animal only for the purpose as determined by
     5  a licensed veterinarian under this article.  The livestock producer  may
     6  provide the antimicrobial only for the duration specified by the veteri-
     7  narian.
     8    §  6724.  Annual reports. 1. Veterinarians licensed to practice in New
     9  York state, or who are licensed in a bordering state and practice in the
    10  state, and who prescribe medically important antimicrobials or  write  a
    11  Veterinary Feed Directive for one or more sets of food-producing animals
    12  must  file  an  annual  report  under  this section in a form and manner
    13  required by the department by rule. This report will be submitted to the
    14  commissioner, the commissioner of health, the commissioner  of  agricul-
    15  ture  and  markets,  the  temporary  president of the senate, the senate
    16  minority leader, the speaker of the assembly, and the minority leader of
    17  the assembly. If any medically important antimicrobials were  prescribed
    18  to,  provided  to,  or administered to food-producing animals during the
    19  reporting period, the annual report must contain the following  informa-
    20  tion:
    21    (a) The total number of food-producing animals provided with medically
    22  important antimicrobials;
    23    (b) The name of each medically important antimicrobial provided;
    24    (c) The species of food-producing animals that were provided with each
    25  medically important antimicrobial;
    26    (d)  The quantity of each medically important antimicrobial prescribed
    27  to each species of food-producing animal;
    28    (e) The number of days that each medically important antimicrobial was
    29  intended to be provided to a food-producing animal;
    30    (f) The dosage of each  medically  important  antimicrobial  that  was
    31  intended to be provided to a food-producing animal;
    32    (g) The method for providing each medically important antimicrobial to
    33  a food-producing animal;
    34    (h)  The  purpose for providing each medically important antimicrobial
    35  to a food-producing animal; and
    36    (i) The disease  or  infection,  if  any,  that  was  intended  to  be
    37  controlled due to the provision of each medically important antimicrobi-
    38  al.
    39    2.  For  the  purposes  of  paragraph  (h)  of subdivision one of this
    40  section, the purpose for providing a medically  important  antimicrobial
    41  to a food-producing animal must be reported as:
    42    (a) Disease control; or
    43    (b) Disease treatment; or
    44    (c) Necessary for surgical or other medical procedures.
    45    3.  Information  reported  under  this section should be made publicly
    46  available by the department of health annually in an  online  searchable
    47  database  of  aggregated data.  Such database shall protect the identity
    48  of a licensed veterinarian, an individual farm or business.
    49    4. Information reported under this section is a public record  and  is
    50  not  subject  to  exemption from public disclosure as required under the
    51  New York state freedom of information law.
    52    5. The state board of veterinary medicine, the  department  of  health
    53  and  the department of agriculture and markets will consult as necessary
    54  to fulfill the requirements of this section.
    55    § 6725. Antimicrobial stewardship guidelines. 1. The  state  board  of
    56  veterinary  medicine, in consultation with the department of agriculture

        A. 9632                             5

     1  and markets, the department of  health,  universities,  and  cooperative
     2  extensions,  shall develop antimicrobial stewardship guidelines and best
     3  management practices for  veterinarians,  livestock  owners,  and  their
     4  employees who are involved with the administering of medically important
     5  antimicrobials  on  the proper use of medically important antimicrobials
     6  for disease treatment and control. The guidelines shall  include  scien-
     7  tifically  validated  practical  alternatives  to  the  use of medically
     8  important antimicrobials, including, but not limited  to,  good  hygiene
     9  and  management  practices. The guidelines shall be reviewed and updated
    10  periodically, as necessary.
    11    2. The state board of veterinary medicine shall consult with livestock
    12  producers, licensed veterinarians, and other  relevant  stakeholders  on
    13  ensuring  that  livestock  grown  in  rural areas with limited access to
    14  veterinary care have timely access to treatment.
    15    3. For the purposes of this section, "antimicrobial stewardship" is  a
    16  commitment to do all of the following:
    17    (a) To use medically important microbials only when necessary to treat
    18  or control disease;
    19    (b)  To  select  the appropriate medically important microbial and the
    20  appropriate dose, duration, and route of administration; and
    21    (c) To use medically important microbials for  the  shortest  duration
    22  necessary  and  allowable,  and to administer them to the fewest animals
    23  necessary.
    24    § 6726. Implementation. 1. The state board of veterinary medicine, the
    25  department of health, and the  department  of  agriculture  and  markets
    26  shall  coordinate  with the United States Department of Agriculture, the
    27  United States Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for  Disease
    28  Control  and  Prevention to implement the expanded antimicrobial resist-
    29  ance surveillance efforts included  in  the  National  Action  Plan  for
    30  Combating  Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, and that the information gath-
    31  ered through this effort will help lead to a better understanding of the
    32  links between antimicrobial use patterns in livestock and  the  develop-
    33  ment of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections.
    34    2.  (a)  The department of health, the state board of veterinary medi-
    35  cine, the department of  agriculture  and  markets,  veterinarians,  and
    36  livestock  producers  shall  gather  information  on medically important
    37  antimicrobial sales and usage as well as antimicrobial-resistant  bacte-
    38  ria  and  livestock  management practice data.  Monitoring efforts shall
    39  not be duplicative of the National Animal Health  Monitoring  System  or
    40  the  National  Antimicrobial  Resistance  Monitoring System, and, to the
    41  extent feasible, will coordinate with the United  States  Department  of
    42  Agriculture,  the  Centers  for  Disease Control and Prevention, and the
    43  United States Food and Drug Administration in the development  of  these
    44  efforts.
    45    (b)  In coordinating with the National Animal Health Monitoring System
    46  and the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, the depart-
    47  ment of health, the state board of veterinary medicine and  the  depart-
    48  ment  of  agriculture and markets shall gather representative samples of
    49  biological isolates from all of the following:
    50    (i) New York state's major livestock segments;
    51    (ii) regions with considerable livestock production; and
    52    (iii) representative segments of the food production chain.
    53    (c) The department of health, the state board of  veterinary  medicine
    54  and the department of agriculture and markets shall report to the legis-
    55  lature  by  January first, two thousand twenty-one, the results of their
    56  outreach activities and monitoring efforts.

        A. 9632                             6

     1    § 6727. Authority to receive Veterinary Feed Directives.  The  depart-
     2  ment of agriculture and markets has the authority to request and receive
     3  copies of all Veterinary Feed Directives issued in the state from veter-
     4  inarians,  livestock owners, feed mills, or distributors to fully imple-
     5  ment the provisions of this article.
     6    §  6728.  Violations.  1. A person or entity who violates this article
     7  shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more  than  two  hundred  and
     8  fifty dollars per farm operation for each day a violation occurs.
     9    2.  (a)  For  a second or subsequent violation, a person or entity who
    10  violates this article shall be punishable by an administrative  fine  in
    11  the  amount  of  five  hundred dollars per farm operation for each day a
    12  violation occurs.
    13    (b) In addition to the administrative fine, the violator shall  attend
    14  an  educational  program  to  be  jointly developed by the department of
    15  health and the state board of veterinary medicine on the  judicious  use
    16  of  medically  important antimicrobials. The violator shall successfully
    17  complete the program and provide proof to the board within  ninety  days
    18  from the occurrence of the violation.
    19    3.  Subdivisions  one  and  two  of  this  section  shall not apply to
    20  licensed veterinarians. A veterinarian  who  violates  this  section  is
    21  subject  to  discipline  as  defined  in subarticle three of article one
    22  hundred thirty of title eight of this chapter.
    23    4. The moneys collected pursuant to this article  shall  be  deposited
    24  into  the  antibiotics  education  fund  established pursuant to section
    25  ninety-seven-j of the state finance law and be available for expenditure
    26  upon appropriation by the legislature.
    27    § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-j  to
    28  read as follows:
    29    §  97-j. Antibiotics education fund. 1. There is hereby established in
    30  the custody of the state comptroller a special fund to be known  as  the
    31  "antibiotics education fund".
    32    2. Such fund shall consist of all monies recovered from the assessment
    33  of  any  penalty  authorized by article one hundred thirty-five-A of the
    34  education law.
    35    3. Moneys of the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund and
    36  shall, in addition to any other moneys made available for such  purpose,
    37  be  available  to  the  department for the purpose of antibiotics educa-
    38  tional programs. All payments from the antibiotics education fund  shall
    39  be  made  on  the audit and warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers
    40  certified and submitted by the commissioner.
    41    § 4. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.
feedback