A 5127: Allows for unlicensed individuals to collect throat or nasopharyngeal swab specimens and to perform certain nursing tasks during a state disaster emergency.
What A 5127 does, verified January 8, 2026
During a declared state of disaster emergency for a disease outbreak or epidemic, the state allows unlicensed individuals to collect throat or nasopharyngeal swab specimens for testing purposes. These individuals must complete training deemed adequate by the commissioner. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health, establishes the training requirements. In addition, non-nursing staff can perform tasks under the supervision of a nurse, otherwise limited to the scope of practice of a licensed or registered nurse. The commissioner establishes training requirements for these staff members. The changes take effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to higher education (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 5127
- What is the current status of A 5127?
- As of January 8, 2026, A 5127 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to higher education".
- Did A 5127 pass?
- Not yet. A 5127 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 5127, and where is it now?
- A 5127 was authored by Asm. Kwani O'Pharrow. Its committee of record is Assembly Higher Education. It is filed under EDN, alongside 312 other New York EDN bills this session.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to higher education |
| Feb. 12, 2025 | referred to higher education |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 12, 2025 · 357 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5127 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 12, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. O'PHARROW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to allowing for unli- censed individuals to collect throat or nasopharyngeal swab specimens and to perform certain nursing tasks during certain state of disaster emergencies The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 6526 of the education law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 11 to read as follows: 3 11. Any person in a declared state of disaster emergency for a disease 4 outbreak or epidemic, pursuant to section twenty-eight of the executive 5 law, shall be permitted, upon the successful completion of training 6 deemed adequate by the commissioner, to collect throat or nasopharyngeal 7 swab specimens from individuals suspected of being infected by an infec- 8 tious disease, for purposes of testing. The commissioner, in consulta- 9 tion with the commissioner of health, shall establish training require- 10 ments for unlicensed individuals to collect throat or nasopharyngeal 11 swab specimens. 12 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 6908 of the education law is amended by 13 adding a new paragraph i to read as follows: 14 i. As prohibiting in a declared state of disaster emergency for a 15 disease outbreak or epidemic, pursuant to section twenty-eight of the 16 executive law, to the extent necessary, non-nursing staff, upon the 17 successful completion of training deemed adequate by the commissioner, 18 to perform tasks, under the supervision of a nurse, otherwise limited to 19 the scope of practice of a licensed or registered nurse. The commis- 20 sioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health, shall establish 21 training requirements for non-nursing staff to perform the tasks permit- 22 ted by this paragraph. 23 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07892-01-5
Text of A 5127 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions