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A3733 • 2025

Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections

Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections

Privacy
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Harry B. Bronson
Last action
2026-06-02
Official status
Passed Senate
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections

Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections; provides that such provisions shall not be construed as requiring a facility to retain records for any particular length of time.

What This Bill Does

  • Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections; provides that such provisions shall not be construed as requiring a facility to retain records for any particular length of time.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-02 Senate

    SUBSTITUTED FOR S4713A

  2. 2026-06-02 Senate

    3RD READING CAL.1535

  3. 2026-06-02 Senate

    PASSED SENATE

  4. 2026-06-02 Senate

    RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY

  5. 2026-06-01 Assembly

    PASSED ASSEMBLY

  6. 2026-06-01 Assembly

    DELIVERED TO SENATE

  7. 2026-06-01 Senate

    REFERRED TO RULES

  8. 2026-01-22 Assembly

    ADVANCED TO THIRD READING CAL.233

  9. 2026-01-21 Assembly

    REPORTED

  10. 2026-01-07 Assembly

    REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH

  11. 2025-05-14 Assembly

    AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO MENTAL HEALTH

  12. 2025-05-14 Assembly

    PRINT NUMBER 3733A

  13. 2025-01-30 Assembly

    REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH

Official Summary Text

Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections
Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections; provides that such provisions shall not be construed as requiring a facility to retain records for any particular length of time.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3733

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                                  I N  A S S E M B L Y

                                    January 30, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Mental Health

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to  allowing  direct
          descendants  of  a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty
          years or longer to access such patient's clinical records

          THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
        BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

     1    Section  1.  Paragraph  6  of  subdivision (a) of section 33.16 of the
     2  mental hygiene law, as amended by chapter 233 of the laws  of  2017,  is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    6. "Qualified person" means any properly identified patient or client,
     5  guardian  of a person with a developmental disability appointed pursuant
     6  to article seventeen-A  of  the  surrogate's  court  procedure  act,  or
     7  committee  for  an  incompetent  appointed pursuant to this chapter or a
     8  parent of an infant, or a guardian of an infant  appointed  pursuant  to
     9  article seventeen of the surrogate's court procedure act or other legal-
    10  ly appointed guardian of an infant who may be entitled to request access
    11  to  a  clinical record pursuant to paragraph three of subdivision (b) of
    12  this section, or a parent, spouse, adult child, or adult sibling  of  an
    13  adult patient or client who may be entitled to request access to a clin-
    14  ical  record  pursuant  to  paragraph  four  of  subdivision (b) of this
    15  section, OR A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF A FORMER PATIENT OR  CLIENT  WHO  HAS
    16  BEEN DECEASED FOR A PERIOD OF FIFTY YEARS OR LONGER.
    17    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.



         EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06027-01-5