A 1026: Requires the department of health to require all maternal healthcare facilities to include and/or post on the maternal healthcare facility's webpage, lobby, and patient waiting areas information stating a birthing parent is allowed to have a doula present in the maternal health care facility for delivery and/or inpatient care post-delivery.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1026 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to access to doulas; and to repeal a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public health law relating to permitting doulas to be present in the operating room while a cesarean section is being performed, as proposed in legisla- tive bills numbers S. 5991-A and A. 7606 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. A chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public health 2 law relating to permitting doulas to be present in the operating room 3 while a cesarean section is being performed, as proposed in legislative 4 bills numbers S. 5991-A and A. 7606, is REPEALED. 5 § 2. Section 2500-m of the public health law is amended by adding a 6 new subdivision (c) to read as follows: 7 (c) The department shall require all maternal health care facilities 8 to include and/or post on the maternal health care facility's webpage, 9 lobby, and patient waiting areas information stating a birthing parent 10 is allowed to have a doula present in the maternal health care facility 11 for delivery and/or inpatient care post-delivery. Such information shall 12 be written in layperson's language and shall be made available in 13 English and the six most common non-English languages spoken by individ- 14 uals with limited English proficiency in New York state as based on the 15 most recent census. The department shall produce and provide maternal 16 health care facilities with informational pamphlets stating a birthing 17 parent shall be allowed to have a doula present in the maternal health 18 care facility for delivery and/or inpatient care post-delivery. The 19 informational pamphlet shall be: available in each patient waiting area 20 as a printed deliverable; written in layperson's language; and made 21 available in English and the six most common non-English languages EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02853-01-5 
 A. 1026 2 1 spoken by individuals with limited English proficiency in New York state 2 as based on the most recent census. 3 § 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 4 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public health law 5 relating to permitting doulas to be present in the operating room while 6 a cesarean section is being performed, as proposed in legislative bills 7 numbers S. 5991-A and A. 7606; provided, however that section two of 8 this act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a 9 chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public health law relating to 10 permitting expecting and new mothers' access to their doulas, as 11 proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 5992-A and A. 6168-A, takes 12 effect.