BILL NUMBER: S8841A
SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law and the public health law, in relation to
allowing individuals to register in the "donate life registry" through
personal income tax filings
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to expand opportunities for New Yorkers to
register as organ donors by including the option to enroll in the
"Donate Life Registry" when electronically filing their state income tax
returns.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 171 of the Tax Law, in relation to the powers
and duties of the commissioner of taxation and finance, by adding a new
section 171-bb defining the "donate life registry" pursuant to section
4310 of the Public Health Law, and adding that the Department of Taxa-
tion and Finance would include the opportunity for tax filing individ-
uals to enroll in the Donate Life Registry by providing written consent
to enroll them and allowing the Department to share their information
with the registry. This section further outlines the purposes for the
usage of an individual's data provided to be for the Donate Life Regis-
try, which will be obtained through a data sharing agreement between the
Department of Taxation and Finance and the Donate Life Registry.
Sections 2 and 3 amend paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 4310 of
the Public Health Law to add personal income tax filings as an approved
method for individuals to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors.
Sections 4 and 5 amend subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision
5 of section 4310 of the Public Health Law to require the Commissioner
of Health, in consultation with relevant state agencies, to ensure that
space and language are provided on required forms for an individual to
register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor.
Sections 6 and 7 amend section 697 of the Tax Law to create a limited
exception to the Department of Taxation and Finance's tax secrecy
provisions for the purpose of allowing the disclosure of information
necessary to enroll consenting individuals in the Donate Life Registry.
Section 8 sets the effective date of this act.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York has taken significant steps to expand opportunities for indi-
viduals to register in the Donate Life Registry by creating multiple
secure and familiar "doorways to donation" across interactions that New
Yorkers regularly have with state-administered systems, including driv-
er's license transactions, voter registration, health exchange enroll-
ment, higher education financial aid transactions, and other public-fac-
ing platforms. This legislation builds upon that framework by
authorizing donor registration opportunities through approved electronic
personal income tax filing systems.
Importantly, this legislation reflects substantial revisions made in
response to operational concerns raised by the Department of Taxation
and Finance regarding earlier versions of this proposal. Prior versions
raised concerns relating to implementation burdens on tax preparers,
ambiguity regarding the Department's authority to administer the program
through approved filing software, and the absence of an explicit excep-
tion to the Department's tax secrecy provisions permitting disclosure of
enrollment information to the Donate Life Registry.
The current bill addresses those concerns by substantially narrowing and
restructuring the proposal. Rather than imposing obligations on individ-
ual preparers, the legislation now focuses on consumer-facing electronic
filing platforms approved by the Department and expressly authorizes the
Department to administer the registration opportunity and promulgate any
necessary rules and regulations governing implementation and consent
procedures. The bill also establishes a limited statutory exception to
existing tax secrecy provisions solely for purposes of facilitating
enrollment of consenting individuals into the Donate Life Registry.
Additionally, the legislation provides the Department with greater
administrative flexibility by removing prescriptive requirements regard-
ing specific data fields and disclosure timelines, instead referring
generally to information necessary to carry out the program. Several
large and administratively complex states have already successfully
implemented similar systems in recent years. Michigan became the first
state to permit organ donor registration through state income tax
filings in 2023. Wisconsin implemented a similar model in 2025, and
California adopted legislation in 2023 establishing donor registration
opportunities through state tax filings beginning with the 2025 filing
year. These states have demonstrated that donor registration opportu-
nities can be integrated into existing electronic tax administration
systems while maintaining appropriate protections for taxpayer informa-
tion.
By creating another broadly utilized and familiar opportunity for New
Yorkers to register as organ donors, this bill would help strengthen the
Donate Life Registry, increase public awareness regarding organ
donation, and potentially save lives through expanded donor partic-
ipation.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2025: S7331-A Rivera / A7011-A Tapia - Vetoed memo. 43
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after becom-
ing law.

Statutes affected:
S8841: 4310 public health law, 4310(5) public health law
S8841A: 4310 public health law, 4310(5) public health law, 697 tax law, 697(e) tax law