In advance of the busy Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial kick-off of summer, as millions of New Yorkers head outdoors to our state parks, I’m proud to announce the New York State Legislature has given final passage to my bi-partisan law to help save lives by enabling forest and state park rangers to carry EpiPens to treat people with severe allergic reactions in an emergency.

 

Summer is now upon us and after the overwhelming isolation New Yorkers have experienced during this pandemic, it’ll be the “Roaring 20s” as they’ll literally and figuratively be “itching” to get out and visit our state parks and recreate. Hikers, campers, swimmers, hunters, and picnickers will be out in force. They’ll be bites and allergic reactions.

 

That’s why we need our park rangers, forest rangers and environmental conservation police officers to be able to carry life-saving EpiPens to help respond to a severe allergic reaction. Epinephrine injectors, also known as “EpiPens,” are used to reverse the effects of severe allergic reactions or anaphylaxis from bee stings, drug reactions, food allergies or exercise-induced shock.

 

The common sense legislation, which I passed today in the Senate and worked across party lines with Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara (D-Rotterdam) to pass in the Assembly, S.4375/A.4652, authorizes the 700 dedicated park rangers, forest rangers and environmental conservation police who work in over 18.6 million acres of New York State forested lands the ability, if they choose, to carry EpiPens while on patrol so we can help save lives.

 

The list of authorized individuals currently under New York State law who can administer an EpiPen includes EMTs, children’s overnight camp and summer day camp employees, staff at public and private schools, as well as employees who work at sports and entertainment venues, amusement parks, restaurants, youth organizations and sports leagues, daycare facilities and retail establishments.  I sponsored and passed legislation in 2019 to add law enforcement and firefighters to the list.

 

I want to thank all my legislative colleagues who voted for this bill, and I want to give special thanks to Senator Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan), whose daughter is a pediatrician and the mother of a child with a food allergy, for his strong advocacy and support in helping to move this important public safety measure forward in the Senate.

 

The bill will now go to the Governor for his review, and hopefully, signage into law.