S 4626: Relates to lyme disease and tick-borne infection awareness and prevention for children's overnight, summer day and traveling summer day camps; provides guidelines for treatment and notification; provides for the development of materials.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4626 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to lyme disease and tick-borne infection awareness and prevention The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2 1392-b to read as follows: 3 § 1392-b. Lyme disease and tick-borne infection awareness and 4 prevention program for children's overnight, summer day and traveling 5 summer day camps. 1. The commissioner, in consultation with the commis- 6 sioner of environmental conservation, shall develop instructional tools 7 and materials for children's overnight camps, summer day camps and trav- 8 eling summer day camps regarding prevention and awareness of lyme 9 disease and other tick-borne infections. Resources and materials shall 10 be age-appropriate for children attending such camps and provide infor- 11 mation on the identification of ticks, recommended procedures for safe 12 tick removal and best practices to provide protection from ticks. Such 13 materials may include but not be limited to video productions, 14 pamphlets, and demonstration programs to illustrate the various sizes of 15 ticks before and after engorgement to assist with the identification of 16 a tick and the reaction on the skin that may occur as a result of a tick 17 bite. Materials and instructional tools to advance and promote education 18 and awareness on tick identification and protection shall be made avail- 19 able to children's overnight camps, summer day camps and traveling 20 summer day camps upon request at no charge. Such materials and instruc- 21 tional tools may also be made available to children's non-regulated 22 camps, pursuant to section three hundred ninety-eight-f of the general 23 business law. 24 2. The commissioner shall promulgate, and review as necessary, rules 25 and regulations related to children attending children's overnight EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08604-01-5 
 S. 4626 2 1 camps, summer day camps, and traveling summer day camps who have a tick 2 removed from them while at such a camp. Such regulations shall include 3 but not be limited to: 4 (a) tick removal guidelines for employees and volunteers of such a 5 camp, aged eighteen years or older, to be developed by the commissioner 6 of health; 7 (b) procedures for written notification to a parent or guardian after 8 a tick has been removed from a child attending such a camp. Written 9 notification shall include, but not be limited to, the inclusion of 10 informational materials developed by the commissioner about the spread 11 of lyme disease and other tick-borne infections, signs and symptoms of 12 lyme or tick-borne infections, and recommendations for how and when to 13 seek medical treatment if needed; and 14 (c) the development of informational materials for such camps and 15 parents to be provided on the department of health website. The rules 16 and regulations established pursuant to this subdivision shall be deemed 17 to be the minimum standards that must be complied with by every chil- 18 dren's overnight camp, summer day camp, and traveling summer day camp 19 relating to the removal of ticks on children. Such rules and regulations 20 may also be implemented by children's non-regulated camps, pursuant to 21 section three hundred ninety-eight-f of the general business law, if 22 they so authorize. 23 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.