N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 201

§ 201. Functions, powers and duties of the department. 1. The\ndepartment shall, as provided by law:\n (a) supervise the work and activities of the local boards of health\nand health officers throughout the state, unless otherwise provided by\nlaw;\n (b) supervise and control the registration of births, deaths and\nmarriages;\n (c) supervise the reporting and control of disease;\n (d) engage in research into morbidity and mortality;\n (e) produce, standardize and distribute diagnostic, prophylactic and\ntherapeutic products;\n (f) conduct laboratory examinations for the diagnosis and control of\ndisease;\n (g) promote education in the prevention and control of disease;\n (h) promote or provide diagnostic and therapeutic services for\nmaternal and child health, communicable disease, medical rehabilitation,\ncancer and other conditions and diseases affecting public health;\n (i) except as otherwise provided by law, license, supervise and\nregulate maternity hospitals and homes and the occupation of midwifery;\n (j) license, supervise and regulate the manufacture, distribution and\nuse of narcotics;\n (k) maintain and operate such state hospitals, institutions, public\nhealth centers and clinics as shall be established in the department;\n (l) supervise and regulate the sanitary aspects of water supplies and\nsewage disposal and control the pollution of waters of the state;\n (m) supervise and regulate the sanitary aspects of camps, hotels,\nboarding houses, public eating and drinking establishments, swimming\npools, bathing establishments and other businesses and activities\naffecting public health and, in relation to hotels, boarding houses and\ntemporary residences as defined in the state sanitary code, inspect such\nfacilities (i) where inspections do not otherwise occur under the state\nuniform fire prevention and building code, (ii) to respond to\ncomplaints, or (iii) when otherwise necessary;\n (n) exercise control over and supervise the abatement of nuisances\naffecting or likely to affect public health;\n (o) advise any local unit of government and the public health\nofficials thereof within the state, in the performance of their official\nduties and regulate the financial assistance granted by the state in\nconnection with all public health activities;\n (p) receive and expend funds made available for public health purposes\npursuant to law;\n (q) license, supervise and regulate the practice of funeral directing\nand embalming;\n (r) supervise and regulate the public health aspects of ionizing\nradiation and nonionizing electromagnetic radiation; and may in its\ndiscretion license activities within the state affecting or likely to\naffect public health and relating to radioactive materials, excluding\nspecial nuclear materials in quantities sufficient to form a critical\nmass and excluding the handling and disposal of radioactive wastes and\nthe release of radioactivity to the environment regulated by the state\ndepartment of environmental conservation;\n (s) administer to the medical and health needs of the ambulant sick\nand needy Indians on the reservations;\n (u) engage in research into the causes of rocky mountain spotted fever\nand the prevention thereof and develop programs for the control of\nticks, insects and anthropods which act as vectors of disease affecting\nman, within funds made available for such purposes.\n (v) act as the single state agency for medical assistance pursuant to\nsection three hundred sixty-three-a of the social services law, as\namended by this chapter, with responsibility to supervise the plan for\nmedical assistance as required by title XIX of the federal Social\nSecurity act, or its successor, and to adopt regulations as may be\nnecessary to implement this plan.\n (w) make available to the council on children and families\ninformation, in a format identified by the council, regarding home\nvisiting programs that meet the criteria as required by section four\nhundred twenty-nine of the social services law regardless of whether\nsuch program has a contract with or receive funding from the state. Such\ninformation shall be provided in accordance with the requirements set\nforth in subdivision two of section four hundred eighty-three-h of the\nsocial services law. Such information shall be made available no less\nthan once a year.\n (x) produce an annual report analyzing the costs related to the sexual\nassault examination direct reimbursement program as created under\nsubdivision thirteen of section six hundred thirty-one of the executive\nlaw and provide such report to the office of victim services on or\nbefore September first of each year. Such report shall be provided to\nthe governor, temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the\nassembly.\n (y) To develop a form by which a coroner, coroner's physician or\nmedical examiner, pursuant to section six hundred seventy-seven of the\ncounty law, shall report to the division of veterans' services any death\nwhich appears to be caused by suicide by a person who, to the knowledge\nof the coroner, coroner's physician or medical examiner, is a veteran.\nThis form shall at a minimum: (i) ensure compliance with the strictest\nprivacy protections and encourage data aggregation to the extent\nfeasible; (ii) provide the address to which the form is to be mailed or\nsubmitted electronically; and (iii) include the county of residence and\nthe branch of service of deceased veterans during the reporting period.\n 2. The department shall continue to exercise all of the functions,\npowers and duties which have been prescribed by law and which are being\nexercised by it when this chapter takes effect together with such\nfunctions, powers and duties as hereafter may be conferred and imposed\nupon it by law.\n 3. All the provisions of this chapter shall apply to the department\ncontinued by this chapter and to the commissioner, the public health\ncouncil and any successor council, and to the divisions, bureaus and\nofficers in such department.\n