Albany lawmakers have signed off on a bill that would force the state Department of Health to count and publicly report heat related deaths and map which communities are most vulnerable, and now the measure is parked on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk. The proposal tells the agency to estimate both deaths directly caused by extreme heat and those “heat exacerbated” by underlying health conditions, then publish the numbers at the county and neighborhood level. Supporters argue that standardized data is the missing ingredient for smarter decisions about cooling centers, outreach and other basic life saving tools.
What the bill would require
The bill, introduced in the Assembly by M. of A. Paulin and carried in the Senate as S5056, would add a new section to the Public Health Law that orders an annual report listing the number of heat stress deaths, estimating past heat exacerbated deaths with statistical models and describing the relative heat vulnerability of counties and census tracts, according to the New York State Senate. The law would also require the Department of Health to spell out its methods, publish aggregated demographic information about people who died and prominently post the findings on its website. The bill sets an initial deadline, directing the first report to be submitted no later than June 15, 2026, and every year after that.
Assembly sponsor points to city model
Sponsor Amy Paulin told the Assembly that the statute was modeled on New York City’s work and would let the state “copy what the city’s doing” to pinpoint vulnerable neighborhoods, per the Assembly floor record. Paulin said that city systems for collecting hospital and death record data could be shared with the state to produce more complete counts, as recorded in the New York State Assembly.
Why counting heat deaths is complicated
Official tallies that rely on death certificate codes usually show only a few hundred heat related deaths a year, but researchers who use temperature mortality models say those counts miss many indirect fatalities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports roughly 700 heat related deaths per year using vital records codes, per the CDC’s MMWR, while a multi county analysis estimated more than 5,600 excess deaths annually in the sampled counties when statistical methods are applied. The bill’s requirement that the state use sensitive statistical models is meant to bridge those approaches and produce a fuller picture of heat’s toll.
New York City already tracks excess heat mortality
The New York City Health Department has been publishing heat mortality estimates and a Heat Vulnerability Index that identifies neighborhoods at highest risk, finding recent annual averages of several hundred heat exacerbated deaths and disparities concentrated in Brooklyn and the Bronx, according to the New York City Health Department. Lawmakers repeatedly pointed to that local work as the template for a statewide system that would let counties and communities plan and target cooling resources more precisely.
Next steps
With identical language approved by both houses, the bill now waits for the governor. Under state rules, the executive has 10 days (excluding Sundays) to sign or veto bills while the Legislature is in session, and a 30 day pocket period applies to final adjournment bills, according to the New York Department of State. Advocates including New York Lawyers for the Public Interest have applauded passage and urged quick implementation, and the measure’s advance was reported by Crain's New York Business.
