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

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4713

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                                    I N  S E N A T E

                                    February 12, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  FAHY  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee 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.  (I)  "Qualified  person"  means any properly identified patient or
     5  client, guardian of a person with a developmental  disability  appointed
     6  pursuant  to article seventeen-A of the surrogate's court procedure act,
     7  or 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    (II) THE COMMISSIONER OF MENTAL  HEALTH  SHALL  PROMULGATE  RULES  AND
    18  REGULATIONS TO ESTABLISH A PROCESS AND STANDARD OF EVIDENCE ACCORDING TO
    19  WHICH INDIVIDUALS MAY PRESENT TO A FACILITY PROOF OF DIRECT DESCENT FROM
    20  A FORMER PATIENT OR CLIENT.
    21    §  2.    Paragraph 5 of subdivision (b) of section 33.16 of the mental
    22  hygiene law, as amended by chapter 233 of the laws of 1991,  is  amended
    23  to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06027-02-5
        S. 4713                             2

     1    5.  Subject  to the provisions of this subdivision and subdivision (c)
     2  of this section, upon the written request of  any  qualified  person,  a
     3  facility  shall furnish to such person, within a reasonable time, a copy
     4  of any clinical record requested  which  the  person  is  authorized  to
     5  inspect pursuant to this subdivision; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NOTHING IN
     6  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  BE  CONSTRUED  AS REQUIRING THAT A FACILITY RETAIN
     7  CLINICAL RECORDS INDEFINITELY OR FOR ANY PARTICULAR LENGTH  OF  TIME  IN
     8  ANTICIPATION OF ATTEMPTED ACCESS BY AN INDIVIDUAL MEETING THE DEFINITION
     9  OF A QUALIFIED PERSON.
    10    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.