File #: Int 1405-2025    Version: * Name: Public education campaign on HPV, expanding access to HPV self-testing kits, and healthcare provider training on cultural competency and implicit bias.
Type: Introduction Status: Committee
Committee: Committee on Health
On agenda: 9/25/2025
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a public education campaign on HPV, expanding access to HPV self-testing kits, and healthcare provider training on cultural competency and implicit bias
Sponsors: Nantasha M. Williams, Julie Menin, Farah N. Louis, Lincoln Restler
Council Member Sponsors: 4
Summary: This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to conduct a public education campaign to increase awareness of the human papillomavirus (HPV), its link to cervical and other cancers, and the importance of HPV testing, vaccination, and cervical cancer screening. DOHMH would also be required to make HPV self-testing kits available at neighborhood health service centers, report on their distribution and outreach efforts for three years, and provide healthcare providers with education on cultural competency and implicit bias.
Indexes: Report Required
Attachments: 1. Summary of Int. No. 1405, 2. Int. No. 1405, 3. September 25, 2025 - Stated Meeting Agenda, 4. Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 9-25-25.pdf

Int. No. 1405

 

By Council Members Williams, Menin, Louis and Restler

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a public education campaign on HPV, expanding access to HPV self-testing kits, and healthcare provider training on cultural competency and implicit bias

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. Chapter 1 of title 17 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 17-199.30 to read as follows:

§ 17-199.30. HPV public education campaign, self-testing kits, and healthcare provider training. a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

Cultural competency. The term “cultural competency” means knowledge and skills that enable healthcare providers to appreciate, understand, and interact with members of diverse populations within the local community.

Healthcare provider. The term “healthcare provider” means an individual duly licensed or otherwise authorized to practice a health profession pursuant to applicable law, such as physicians, registered professional nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.

HPV. The term “HPV” means the human papillomavirus.

HPV self-testing kit. The term “HPV self-testing kit” means a device approved or authorized by the United States food and drug administration that allows an individual to collect a specimen for HPV screening in a private setting.

Neighborhood health service center. The term “neighborhood health service center” means the department’s neighborhood-specific service centers, or any similar or successor programs, that aim to reduce health inequities and improve health outcomes in the city through partnerships with community-based organizations.

Professional organization. The term “professional organization” means a professional organization for healthcare providers, including, but not limited to, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

b. Public education campaign. The department, in partnership with relevant community-based organizations, shall develop and implement a public education campaign to increase awareness of HPV, its link to cervical and other cancers, and the importance of HPV testing, vaccination, and cervical cancer screening. In determining relevant community-based organizations to partner with, the department shall consider community and geographic factors including rates of HPV, availability of testing services, social determinants of health, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and other factors the department deems relevant. Such public education campaign shall:

1. Prioritize neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by HPV;

2. Inform the public about where to receive HPV vaccinations, cervical cancer screenings, and HPV self-testing kits, including locations where such services and kits are available at no cost; and

3. Be conducted in English and the designated citywide languages as defined in section 23-1101.

c. Distribution of HPV self-testing kits. The department shall make HPV self-testing kits available to the public at no cost and upon request at each neighborhood health service center. Such distribution shall include information on the proper use of HPV self-testing kits, as well as information on the importance of HPV vaccination, cervical cancer screenings, and follow-up care. Such distribution shall be operated in compliance with existing federal, state, and local laws relating to the distribution of medical devices.

d. Healthcare provider training. The department, in collaboration with professional organizations, shall develop and implement a campaign to educate healthcare providers on cultural competency and implicit bias, with an emphasis on gynecological care, reproductive health, and patient communication. Such campaign shall include, but not be limited to, recommendations provided by professional organizations and the New York state department of health.

§ 2. Reporting. No later than 180 days after the effective date of this local law, and annually thereafter for three years, the commissioner shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council, and post publicly on the department’s website, a report detailing the number of HPV self-testing kits distributed at each neighborhood health service center and the outreach efforts undertaken to inform the public of their availability.

§ 3. This law takes effect 180 days after it becomes law.

NJF

LS #20119

9/9/25 4:12 PM