During his press conference last week, Governor Cuomo announced that his administration would allow the State Disaster Emergency (SDE) declaration to expire at the end of the day on June 24 and would not be renewed. The SDE had been in place since March 7, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and had provided underlying authority for more than 100 executive orders issued by the Governor during the state’s efforts to manage the pandemic. The pandemic-related 202 and 205 series of executive orders were officially rescinded pursuant to executive order 210, issued by the Governor on June 25.

The complex set of corresponding regulations, directives, waivers and flexibilities that had supported the state’s response to the pandemic under the 202 and 205 series of executive orders over the past 15 months also seemingly came to a halt as a result of the decision to allow the SDE to expire and to rescind the executive orders. While the Governor’s decision was welcomed by many across the state as New York continues to reopen, the sudden announcement also left many, particularly in the health care industry, with urgent questions as to how the relevant state regulatory agencies would be managing the transition.

New York State continues to seek to address these questions, and we have compiled and linked below a brief list of guidance offered by state agencies since late last week.

• Office of Mental Health – Commissioner’s Transitional Regulatory Wavier
• Department of Health – Emergency Telehealth and Billing Extensions Regulations
• Department of Health – Guidance for Seasonal Camps and Workers with Congregate Housing
• Department of Health – Guidance for Facilities Receiving Vaccines
• Office for People With Developmental Disabilities – Background Check Guidance
• Department of Education Office of the Professions – Return to Compliance Guidance 

We understand that the Governor and state agencies may continue to seek to extend some of the COVID-19-related waivers and directives through the issuance of emergency regulations, waivers or other discretionary enforcement mechanisms. However, in the absence of other specific guidance from the state, to the extent your organization has been using or relying on any COVID-19-related executive order waivers such as waivers of certain professional practice requirements, you should seek to return to compliance with any pre-COVID-19 requirements as soon as possible.

The Manatt team will continue to monitor the developments of these issues and update you as more information becomes available.