BILL NUMBER: S3085
SPONSOR: HELMING
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to reporting inci-
dents of possible professional misconduct
PURPOSE:
To enact Clara's Law requiring hospitals and healthcare facilities to
report incidents of a sexual offense to the State Departments of Health
and Education.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Establishes the title "Clara's Law."
Section 2: Amends subdivision 1 of section 2803-e of the Public Health
Law by adding a new paragraph (c) to require hospitals and healthcare
facilities to report within 30 days all allegations of a sexual offense
by a health care practitioner which involves a patient.
Section 3: Amends subdivision 2 of section 2803-e of the Public Health
Law to require reports to be made to both the Department of Health and
the Education Department and defines "health care practitioner."
Section 4: Provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation is named after the late Clara Mae Bowman, who was sexu-
ally abused by an Intensive care unit nurse at a Florida hospital in
2006. Her abuser resigned from the hospital amid the allegations and
went to work at another hospital, where he later abused another patient.
That hospital was not aware of the allegations when they hired him. This
legislation is necessary to stop healthcare workers who have abused
patients from moving to other hospitals or healthcare facilities without
those facilities knowing their background.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S.1699 referred to Health/A.2991 referred to Health
2021-2022: S.2277 referred to Health/A.5011 referred to Health
2019-2020: S.1406 referred to Health/A.1123 held in Health
2018: S.5124 referred to Health/A.5474 held in Health
2017: S.5124 reported from Health to Higher Education/A.5474 referred to
Health
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
Statutes affected: S3085: 2803-e public health law, 2803-e(1) public health law, 2803-e(2) public health law