BILL NUMBER:S7199

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
restricted clinical laboratory licenses issued under the clinical
laboratory technology practice act

PURPOSE:

Allow individuals employed at National Cancer Institute
(NCI)-designated cancer centers who meet the requirements for a
restricted license to receive a certification allowing them to perform
tests using proteomics, including mass spectrometry.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends section 8610 of the education law, as
amended by section 1 of chapter 336 of the laws of 2013, by allowing
employees of NCI-designated cancer centers to obtain restricted
licenses in the practice of proteomics including mass spectrometry.

Section 2 of the bill is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that New York's
state-of-the-art cancer facilities can recruit and retain highly
              

qualified personnel to perform specialized clinical laboratory
procedures. The statute already recognizes the need for restricted
licenses to be made available for some specialized procedures apart
from the generally applicable requirements for clinical laboratory
technologists. This bill expands the categories of restricted licenses
to include the practice of proteomics including but not limited to
mass spectrometry.

Proteomics is a branch of biotechnology that applies the techniques of
molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics to analyzing proteins
produced by the genes of a particular cell, tissue, or organism.
Proteomics, through the use of mass spectrometry, can be used to
ensure that patients receive appropriate doses of cancer-treating
drugs. Busulfan, a highly toxic chemotherapeutic agent, is used to
treat individuals receiving bone marrow or stem cell transplants. The
drug destroys the patient's own cancerous marrow cells before new
cells are transplanted. However, too little of the drug is ineffective
and too much is toxic. This makes accurate dosing critical for
effective treatment, and mass spectrometry provides the most accurate
measurement.

Currently, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) has a
laboratory approved to use mass spectrometry to perform busulfan
analysis. If the proposed bill is not enacted, MSKCC may lose the only
employee qualified to oversee mass spectrometry testing. Without
sufficient lab personnel MSKCC must send tests out of state, delaying
the receipt of test results and significantly impacting quality of
care and research.

Such extremely specialized personnel hold advanced degrees in the
sciences but do not typically hold clinical laboratory technologist


licenses, nor has their education and training focused on standard
clinical lab procedures. This inhibits the ability of cancer centers
to hire researchers from other states or countries who do not usually
meet the full licensure requirements in New York. This bill would
continue to limit these restricted licenses to personnel employed at
National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers. By allowing these
researchers the ability to use new technologies in NYS cancer centers,
we can ensure that New York remains a leader in cancer research and
care.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.