Committee on Health

This bill would wind down the horse drawn cab industry by prohibiting the issuance of licenses for carriage horses, horse drawn cabs, and horse drawn cab drivers on or after June 1, 2028. Any licenses active as of the effective date of the bill would permanently expire on May 31, 2028, and would no longer be subject to renewal requirements. This bill would require the humane disposition of carriage horses and prohibit their sale or transfer for inhumane purposes, such as for slaughter or for use in another horse drawn cab business. This bill would also require an agency or agencies designated by the Mayor to establish a horse drawn cab industry transition plan by April 1, 2027 for horse drawn cab owners, drivers and other workers engaged in the horse drawn cab industry, including stable workers. Such plan would include a workforce transition program, consideration of a program to assist carriage horse owners with the disposition of their horses and equipment, and consideration of a program to provide compensation to horse drawn cab owners for the value of their businesses, licenses, and equipment.

This bill would require the City to offer health insurance to City employees who are not part of a bargaining unit that includes coverage for pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) which is performed during in vitro fertilization (IVF) to check embryos for abnormalities in the number of chromosomes.

The proposed bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to publicly issue monthly reports on animal shelters that are in contract with the city of New York. The report would include statistics on how many animals were received, euthanized, adopted, sterilized, lost or died. It would also include statistics on how many animals were categorized as healthy, treatable- rehabilitatable, treatable-manageable, and unhealthy-untreatable.

This bill would require the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to create programs to support the pharmaceutical industry in the city, including through workforce development and educational programs. DOHMH would also be required to determine whether it is feasible for the city to establish its own drug stockpile. Finally, DOHMH would be required to report on the state of the pharmaceutical industry in the city, including all open and recently closed pharmacies. It would also be required to add open pharmacies to the NYC Health Map.

This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to ensure accessibility for community-based organizations to rapid self-testing for sexually transmitted infections, prioritizing the organizations located in areas that have higher infection rates as determined by the department.

This bill would require that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) (1) develop and maintain an online map of licensed animal boarding establishments in the City, and (2) conduct a public awareness campaign about the dangers of using unlicensed boarding establishments.

This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, or another agency or entity designated by the mayor, to take all necessary steps to obtain any required licenses or approvals to establish and operate a human milk bank. The human milk bank would collect, process, store, and distribute breast milk for infants and children.

This bill would prohibit the sale of flavored cigarettes and flavored nicotine pouches. The bill imposes civil penalties for violations of the prohibition of sale.

The Health Code currently requires certain chain restaurants to post sodium warnings when they sell food containing high sodium. This bill would codify that rule in the Administrative Code and expand it to include all restaurants, regardless of the number of locations. Additionally, this bill would expand the requirement to post added sugar notifications to all restaurants.

This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to establish and maintain at least one veterinary clinic in every borough that would provide low-cost veterinary services for pets. DOHMH would be required to determine the fee for services provided by each veterinary clinic. Households with an income of no more than 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI) would be eligible for services at a discounted fee, and households with an income of no more than 30% of AMI or who receive public assistance would be eligible for free services. DOHMH would be required to submit an annual report to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council on the pets that received veterinary services and any challenges with establishing, operating, or maintaining the clinics.