Bill Text: NY S00178 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a fund to benefit the residents of Hoosick Falls, Hoosick, and Petersburgh regarding medical monitoring expenses for those exposed to PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) contaminated water for all expenses not covered by insurance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S00178 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S00178-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 178 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 4, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MARCHIONE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the public health law, in relation to the establishment of a fund to benefit the residents of Hoosick Falls, Hoosick and Petersburgh regarding medical monitoring expenses for those exposed to PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) contam- inated water The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 2 97-yyyy to read as follows: 3 § 97-yyyy. PFOA medical monitoring fund. 1. There is hereby estab- 4 lished in the joint custody of the commissioner of health and the comp- 5 troller a fund to be known as the "PFOA medical monitoring fund". 6 2. The fund shall consist of all monies appropriated for its purpose, 7 all monies required by this section or any other provision of law to be 8 paid into or credited to such fund. Whenever a lawsuit results in a 9 civil judgment for expenses already paid for by the fund, that portion 10 of the civil judgment shall be paid into the fund. Nothing contained 11 herein shall prevent the department of health from receiving grants, 12 gifts or bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in this 13 section and depositing them into the fund according to law. 14 3. Monies of the fund, when allocated, shall be available pursuant to 15 section two hundred sixty-seven of the public health law. 16 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of 17 the state comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commis- 18 sioner of health. 19 § 2. Article 2 of the public health law is amended by adding a new 20 title 7 to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04404-01-7S. 178 2 1 TITLE VII 2 PFOA MEDICAL MONITORING FUND 3 Section 267. PFOA medical monitoring fund. 4 § 267. PFOA medical monitoring fund. 1. Definitions. As used in this 5 section, the following words and phrases shall have the following mean- 6 ings unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context: 7 (a) Custodians. The term "custodians" means the commissioner of health 8 and the comptroller. 9 (b) Medical monitoring. The term "medical monitoring" means the 10 screening for health problems caused by exposure to a hazardous 11 substance even though there is no ascertainable injury or symptoms. 12 (c) PFOA. The term "PFOA" means perfluorooctanoic acid. 13 (d) Initial screening. The term "initial screening" means the initial 14 blood test given to determine a person's level of PFOA in their body. 15 2. Use of the fund. The custodians shall provide for the adminis- 16 tration of the PFOA medical monitoring fund as established by section 17 ninety-seven-yyyy of the state finance law, in accordance with the 18 requirements of this section and all applicable laws, rules, regulations 19 and other requirements. This shall include, but not be limited to, the 20 monies in such fund being utilized for the purpose of ensuring medical 21 monitoring of those exposed to PFOA in the village of Hoosick Falls and 22 the towns of Hoosick and Petersburgh in accordance with the following: 23 (a) Those eligible to be benefitted by the PFOA medical monitoring 24 fund shall be: 25 (i) those who were part of the two thousand sixteen biomonitoring 26 study performed in the village of Hoosick Falls, town of Hoosick and 27 town of Petersburg in two thousand sixteen; and 28 (ii) those not part of the two thousand sixteen biomonitoring study 29 but who can show proof that they lived in, worked in, or visited the 30 village of Hoosick Falls, town of Hoosick or town of Petersburg before 31 water filtration eliminated PFOA from its water sources and had exposure 32 to PFOA contaminated water during that time. 33 (b) Those who were not found to have elevated levels of PFOA after an 34 initial screening or those who refuse an initial screening for PFOA 35 shall not be eligible for benefits beyond their initial screening for 36 PFOA levels. 37 (c) The PFOA medical monitoring fund shall pay for all medical moni- 38 toring expenses when not paid for by insurance including, but not limit- 39 ed to: 40 (i) copays and deductibles; 41 (ii) initial screening required for determining PFOA levels in one's 42 body; 43 (iii) continued medical monitoring until the individual's PFOA blood 44 level is reduced to two parts per billion; 45 (iv) screening tests for illnesses linked to PFOA contamination and 46 those illnesses that are found to be potentially linked to PFOA contam- 47 ination including, but not limited to: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, 48 pre-eclampsia, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, hypercholesterole- 49 mia, developmental effects for fetuses, liver tissue damage and immune 50 system impairments; and 51 (v) any other circumstance the custodians deem required to fulfill 52 their duties under this section. 53 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
