NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A645
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to authorizing the
presence of epinephrine auto-injector devices on pre-school premises
PURPOSE:
To authorize pre-schools to keep epinephrine auto-injectors (Epi-Pen)
devices on their premises.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section
3000-c of the public health law to add pre-schools to the list of enti-
ties authorized to keep Epi-Pens on premises.
JUSTIFICATION:
According to the New York State Department of Health (DOH), more than 2
million Americans suffer from anaphylaxis, a severe, potentially life-
threatening allergic reaction the main causes of which are insect stings
or ingesting food or medication to which an individual is allergic. DOH
notes that the allergic individual's best chance of survival is an imme-
diate injection of the medication epinephrine to counteract the body's
allergic response.
In 1999, Governor Pataki signed the Epinephrine Auto-Injector Device
Law, which allows specially trained staff in children's day, overnight,
and traveling camps to use an epinephrine auto-injector device in life
threatening emergencies. An epinephrine auto-injector is an easy-to-use,
pencil-like needle that injects a premeasured dose of epinephrine into
someone having an anaphylactic reaction. A report released by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2013 found that the
prevalence of food and skin allergies among children increased from
1997-2011 by nearly 50%. Give the increasing prevalence of children
susceptible to severe food allergies, it only makes sense to expand the
potential availability of epinephrine auto-injector devices to pre-
school facilities, where children may inadvertently be exposed to foods
to which they have an anaphylactic reaction.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.333 - Referred to Health; S.3229 - Referred to Health
2021-22: A.3821 - Referred to Health; S.723-A - Referred to Health
2013-14: A.7370 - Referred to Health; S.5019 - Referred to Health
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall become a
law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
645
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to authorizing the
presence of epinephrine auto-injector devices on pre-school premises
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 3000-c of the
2 public health law, as amended by chapter 472 of the laws of 2024, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (a) "Eligible person or entity" means: (i) an ambulance service or
5 advanced life support first response service; a certified first respon-
6 der, firefighter in a county, city, town or village having a population
7 of less than two million provided such county is not wholly located
8 within a city with a population of more than one million, emergency
9 medical technician, or advanced emergency medical technician, who is
10 employed by or an enrolled member of any such service; (ii) a children's
11 overnight camp as defined in subdivision one of section thirteen hundred
12 ninety-two of this chapter, a summer day camp as defined in subdivision
13 two of section thirteen hundred ninety-two of this chapter, a traveling
14 summer day camp as defined in subdivision three of section thirteen
15 hundred ninety-two of this chapter or a person employed by such a camp;
16 (iii) a school district, board of cooperative educational services,
17 county vocational education and extension board, charter school, and
18 non-public elementary and secondary school in this state or any person
19 employed by any such entity, or employed by a contractor of such an
20 entity while performing services for the entity; (iv) a sports, enter-
21 tainment, amusement, education, government, day care or retail facility;
22 an educational institution, youth organization or sports league; an
23 establishment that serves food; or a person employed by such entity; (v)
24 a police officer or peace officer in a county, city, town or village
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02282-01-5
A. 645 2
1 having a population of less than two million provided such county is not
2 wholly located within a city with a population of more than one million;
3 (vi) forest rangers, park rangers and environmental conservation police
4 officers; [and] (vii) pre-school facilities or any person employed by
5 such facilities; and (viii) any other person or entity designated or
6 approved, or in a category designated or approved pursuant to regu-
7 lations of the commissioner in consultation with other appropriate agen-
8 cies.
9 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
10 have become a law.
