N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 4.15 – Executive Order No. 15: Establishing an Interagency Task Force on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).*‡

I. Membership
The members of the Task Force shall consist of the Commissioner of Health, who will chair the Task Force, the Commissioners of Social Services, Correctional Services and Mental Health, the Superintendent of Insurance, the Director of the Division of Substance Abuse Services, the Chairman of the Commission on Corrections, and the Director of the Division for Youth.
II. Power and Responsibilities
The Task Force shall:
(1) coordinate the public and private efforts in the fight against AIDS;
(2) disseminate to the public the best possible information available concerning the proper modes of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care for the disease;
(3) monitor the extent and nature of the disease in this State;
(4) encourage research efforts of medical centers, universities, nonprofit organizations and research centers in the etiology of the underlying immune deficiencies identified in AIDS cases; and
(5) submit a preliminary report by December 1983 and at six-month intervals thereafter.
III. Assistance to the Task Force
All departments, divisions, boards, offices and public corporations of the State are requested to cooperate with the Task Force and to provide such assistance as the Task Force may request to fulfill its purposes.
Signed: Mario M. Cuomo Dated: May 16, 1983

A nationwide outbreak of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has affected more than 1,350 persons and caused more than 450 deaths in the United States, a mortality rate of over 33 percent, with one half of all cases in the United States reported from this State.

The causative agent for AIDS is unknown. Ongoing national surveillance for AIDS cases is being conducted by the Centers for Disease Control in cooperation with State and local health departments. In New York State, case registries are being developed through the combined efforts of State and local governments.

In light of the need to strengthen State efforts to combat this disease and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Laws of the State of New York, I, Mario M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York, do hereby establish an Interagency Task Force on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.