NY Pub Health L § 201 (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBH - Public Health Article 2 - The Department of Health Title 1 - Officers and Employees 201 - Functions, Powers and Duties of the Department.

§  201.  Functions,  powers  and  duties  of  the  department.  1. The department shall, as provided by law:  (a) supervise the work and activities of the local  boards  of  health and  health  officers throughout the state, unless otherwise provided by law;  (b) supervise and control  the  registration  of  births,  deaths  and marriages;  (c) supervise the reporting and control of disease;  (d) engage in research into morbidity and mortality;  (e)  produce,  standardize and distribute diagnostic, prophylactic and therapeutic products;  (f) conduct laboratory examinations for the diagnosis and  control  of disease;  (g) promote education in the prevention and control of disease;  (h)  promote  or  provide  diagnostic  and  therapeutic  services  for maternal and child health, communicable disease, medical rehabilitation, cancer and other conditions and diseases affecting public health;  (i) except as  otherwise  provided  by  law,  license,  supervise  and regulate maternity hospitals and homes and the occupation of midwifery;  (j)  license, supervise and regulate the manufacture, distribution and use of narcotics;  (k) maintain and operate such state  hospitals,  institutions,  public health centers and clinics as shall be established in the department;  (l)  supervise and regulate the sanitary aspects of water supplies and sewage disposal and control the pollution of waters of the state;  (m) supervise and regulate the  sanitary  aspects  of  camps,  hotels, boarding  houses,  public  eating  and drinking establishments, swimming pools,  bathing  establishments  and  other  businesses  and  activities affecting  public health and, in relation to hotels, boarding houses and temporary residences as defined in the state sanitary code, inspect such facilities (i) where inspections do not otherwise occur under the  state uniform   fire   prevention  and  building  code,  (ii)  to  respond  to complaints, or (iii) when otherwise necessary;  (n) exercise control over and supervise  the  abatement  of  nuisances affecting or likely to affect public health;  (o)  advise  any  local  unit  of  government  and  the  public health officials thereof within the state, in the performance of their official duties and regulate the financial assistance granted  by  the  state  in connection with all public health activities;  (p) receive and expend funds made available for public health purposes pursuant to law;  (q)  license, supervise and regulate the practice of funeral directing and embalming;  (r) supervise and regulate  the  public  health  aspects  of  ionizing radiation  and  nonionizing  electromagnetic  radiation;  and may in its discretion license activities within the state affecting  or  likely  to affect  public  health  and relating to radioactive materials, excluding special nuclear materials in quantities sufficient to  form  a  critical mass  and  excluding the handling and disposal of radioactive wastes and the release of radioactivity to the environment regulated by  the  state department of environmental conservation;  (s)  administer  to  the medical and health needs of the ambulant sick and needy Indians on the reservations;  (u) engage in research into the causes of rocky mountain spotted fever and the prevention thereof and  develop  programs  for  the  control  of ticks,  insects and anthropods which act as vectors of disease affecting man, within funds made available for such purposes.  (v) act as the single state agency for medical assistance pursuant  to section  three  hundred  sixty-three-a  of  the  social services law, as amended by this chapter, with responsibility to supervise the  plan  for medical  assistance  as  required  by  title  XIX  of the federal Social Security  act,  or  its  successor,  and  to adopt regulations as may be necessary to implement this plan.  (w)  make  available  to  the  council  on   children   and   families information,  in  a  format  identified  by  the council, regarding home visiting programs that meet the criteria as  required  by  section  four hundred  twenty-nine  of  the  social services law regardless of whether such program has a contract with or receive funding from the state. Such information shall be provided in accordance with  the  requirements  set forth  in  subdivision two of section four hundred eighty-three-h of the social services law. Such information shall be made  available  no  less than once a year.  (x) produce an annual report analyzing the costs related to the sexual assault  examination  direct  reimbursement  program  as  created  under subdivision thirteen of section six hundred thirty-one of the  executive law  and  provide  such  report  to  the office of victim services on or before September first of each year. Such report shall  be  provided  to the  governor,  temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.   2. The department shall continue to exercise  all  of  the  functions, powers  and duties which have been prescribed by law and which are being exercised by it when  this  chapter  takes  effect  together  with  such functions,  powers  and duties as hereafter may be conferred and imposed upon it by law.   3. All the provisions of this chapter shall apply  to  the  department continued  by  this  chapter  and to the commissioner, the public health council and any successor council, and to  the  divisions,  bureaus  and officers in such department.