New York kicks off its 2022 legislative session on Jan. 5 with a number of proposed radical bills related to the pandemic. Governor Kathy Hochul will kick off the session with her first State of the State address, pushing her agenda. It will be the first time a speech has been presented on the floor in three years. Her address will allegedly focus on her proposed budget to include Medicaid expansion and health workforce initiatives.
New York Assembly/Jan. 5, 2022
One of the more feared bills is Assembly Bill A416. The bill was first drafted in 2015 during the Ebola outbreak. Allegedly an Evergreen Bill, meaning a bill that is presented "year after year with little regard." The bill was proposed during the state's 2021-22 legislative session, but it was also introduced in the 2015-16, 2017-18, and 2019-20 sessions "and has never had a co-sponsor," according to Politifact. Regardless, if the bill were to be adopted, it would mean that diseased individuals could be removed "by the governor or his or her delegee" and detained because they "may be a danger to public health."
A416/New York Assembly
The bill also stipulates that individuals cannot continue to be detained "after the department determines that such person is no longer contagious."
The proposed bill stipulates that individuals cannot be detained for longer than three days without a court order but then proceeds to give room for detention lasting much longer than the three days. Given the delays in court proceedings during the past 18 months and draconian treatment of unvaccinated individuals and those who have not followed the many mandates, the bill leaves concerning room for abuses of civil rights.
A416/New York Assembly
Assembly Bill A8378 requires immunization against COVID-19 for attendance in school. It was sponsored in October by Democratic Assemblymen Phil Steck and Richard Gottfried—the longest-serving legislator in N.Y. history. The bill adds the COVID-19 vaccine to the scheduled childhood vaccinations. It requires immunization for children between 2 months and 18 years of age.
A279a requires "a health care provider who administers an immunization to a person nineteen years of age or older to report such information to the department of health or to a regional health information organization unless such person objects to such reporting."
A7829 requires immunization "of certain post-secondary students for COVID-19." The bill states that the act will "take effect thirty days following the date of issuance of a biologics license for an immunizing agent against COVID-19 by the United States Food and Drug Administration provided the provisions in the act" comply with recommendations issued by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
A2240 requires immunization for children in daycare and all school-aged children between the ages of 2 months and 18 years of age. Specifically, the bill stipulates that all daycare homes comply with COVID-19 immunization.
A2240 mandate for COVID-19 immunization for daycare
A8398 is a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz that "limits exemptions from immunization requirements by local governments and private entities to medical exemptions; repeals religious exemptions for certain post-secondary students." Dinowitz also sponsored legislation in May, making it a felony to forge or be in possession of a fake vaccine passport. A8398 makes all non-medical exemptions "null and void."
Assembly Bill A6564C, not A3091 as pictured in the graphic above, "permits any child who is at least fourteen years of age to have administered to himself or herself certain immunizations required or recommended by law." Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy first sponsored the bill in March of 2019. Fahy is one of the more progressive members, and she represents the 109th Assembly District which includes a good portion of Albany. Fahy is on the list of "environmental champions," receiving a 93% score for her voting record supporting environmental initiatives.
Pat Fahy/A6564C/14-year-olds can give consent for vaccine.
Assembly Bill A822 allows "treatment for sexually transmitted diseases to minors without a parent's or guardian's consent." A minor is defined as children under the age of 18. The proposed bill also seems to state that records "concerning the care and treatment of an infant patient for venereal disease or the performance of an abortion operation" on the infant "shall not be released or made available to the parent or guardian of such infant." The records can be released to another "designated physician or hospital."
The guardian, parent, or surrogate may request access to the records by written request "within ten days...concerning or relating to the examination or treatment of such subject in possession of such health care provider," according to Section 18, Access to Patient Information.
Assemblyman Patrick Burke proposed a controversial bill in November that has created a stir on social media. He proposed a "bill that allows insurance providers to deny healthcare for those who refuse to be vaccinated." New York State Republican, Rep. Marc Molinaro, pushed back. He announced his 2022 run for Congress in September.
He says the vaccine "is free healthcare provided by the government," so everybody should take advantage of it. During a Nov. 23 WIVB4 interview, Burke stated the following:
"We develop a vaccine that is safe and effective and can be used to stamp out COVID, and not enough people are utilizing that. It's free. It's provided by the government. It is safe and effective; if not enough people take advantage of that, it overwhelms our health care system, and it affects our insurance pools; it affects all of us, and we continue down this nightmare cycle. We also know that unvaccinated people are essentially incubators for COVID variants. We are seeing it rage across the world— these different variants that are negatively affecting different countries, in different communities. And how the delta variant has affected us and we're going to keep going through this until everyone is vaccinated."
Arguably, data from our own Department of Defense is now showing that the vaccinated, not the unvaccinated, are now driving the variants and illness. There is growing evidence that the COVID-19 jabs are doing "more harm than good."
New York has launched some of the most draconian mandates in the U.S. with its Key2NYC program, its vaccine passport, known as the Excelsior Pass, and Governor Hochul's reinstatement of strict mask mandates. Non-compliance in New York City prevents individuals from attending shows, entering venues, grocery shopping, and entering restaurants, among many other activities. On Sunday, a man was arrested in a Panera Bread restaurant for not complying with the vaccine mandate. "I cannot eat," he said, "And my sisters and brothers cannot work."
