New York A 8648: Relates to certain health care decisions for persons with developmental disabilities

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
A08648 Summary:

BILL NOA08648 

&nbsp

SAME ASNo Same As

&nbsp

SPONSORLavine

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd 2994-b, 2994-c, 2994-d, 2994-m, 2994-t, 2994-a & 2994-dd, add 2994-h, Pub Health L; rpld & add 1750-b,
SCPA

&nbsp

Extends the provisions of the family health care decisions act in the public health law to health care decisions for patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Go to top A08648 Actions:

BILL NOA08648 

&nbsp

05/22/2025referred to health

01/07/2026referred to health

Go to topA08648 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA08648 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA08648 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 8648

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 May 22, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE -- read once and referred to the Committee
 on Health

 AN ACT to and the public health law and the surrogate's court procedure
 act, in relation to extending the family health care decisions act to
 health care decisions for patients with intellectual or developmental
 disabilities; and to repeal certain provisions of the surrogate's
 court procedure act relating thereto

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 2994-b of the public health law,
 2 as amended by chapter 708 of the laws of 2019, the opening paragraph as
 3 amended by chapter 40 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as
 4 follows:
 5 3. Prior to seeking or relying upon a health care decision by a surro-
 6 gate for a patient under this article, if [the attending practitioner
 7 has reason to believe that the patient has a history of receiving
 8 services for an intellectual or developmental disability; it reasonably
 9 appears to the attending practitioner that the patient has an intellec-
 10 tual or developmental disability; or] the practitioner in a general
 11 hospital has reason to believe that the patient has been temporarily
 12 transferred from a mental hygiene facility operated or licensed by the
 13 office of mental health [or the office for people with developmental
 14 disabilities, then such physician, nurse practitioner or physician
 15 assistant shall make reasonable efforts to determine whether paragraph
 16 (a), (b) or (c) of this subdivision is applicable:
 17 (a) If the patient has a guardian appointed by a court pursuant to
 18 article seventeen-A of the surrogate's court procedure act, health care
 19 decisions for the patient shall be governed by section seventeen hundred
 20 fifty-b of the surrogate's court procedure act and not by this article.
 21 (b) If a patient does not have a guardian appointed by a court pursu-
 22 ant to article seventeen-A of the surrogate's court procedure act but

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD13049-01-5

 A. 8648 2

 1 falls within the class of persons described in paragraph (a) of subdivi-
 2 sion one of section seventeen hundred fifty-b of such act, decisions to
 3 withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment for the patient shall be
 4 governed by section seventeen hundred fifty-b of the surrogate's court
 5 procedure act and not by this article.
 6 (c) If a health care decision for a patient cannot be made under para-
 7 graphs (a) or (b) of this subdivision, but] and that consent for the
 8 decision may be provided pursuant to the mental hygiene law or regu-
 9 lations of the office of mental health [or the office for people with
 10 developmental disabilities], then the decision shall be governed by such
 11 statute or regulations and not by this article.
 12 § 2. Subdivision 1 and paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section
 13 2994-c of the public health law, as added by chapter 8 of the laws of
 14 2010, are amended to read as follows:
 15 1. Presumption of capacity. For purposes of this article, every adult
 16 shall be presumed to have decision-making capacity unless:
 17 (a) determined otherwise pursuant to this section or pursuant to court
 18 order[,]; or [unless]
 19 (b) a guardian is authorized to decide about health care for the adult
 20 pursuant to article eighty-one of the mental h