Council Member Lynn Schulman, chair of the council's Committee on Health, introduced Intro 13-98 to strengthen New York City's cooling tower testing and maintenance requirements following a summer Legionnaires outbreak.

"This legislation strengthens New York City's requirements for testing and maintaining cooling towers, a critical step to protect public health and prevent future outbreaks of Legionnaires disease," Schulman said. She said the city experienced its worst Legionnaires outbreak in a decade this summer, which resulted in seven deaths and approximately 90 hospitalizations, and characterized the measure as the first significant cooling-tower legislative change since 2015.

Under the bill as described, building owners would be required to test cooling towers at least once a month while they are in use, with testing performed or supervised by qualified professionals. The bill would also mandate biocide treatment during warmer months, renew reporting requirements to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and require documentation to support inspections and responses.

During follow-up discussion, council members raised questions about oversight of city-owned and affiliated cooling towers cited among outbreak sites and noted that inspections had declined in recent years. Schulman and other members said the oversight hearing prompted the administration to add more inspectors.

The bill was presented for council consideration; the transcript records discussion and oversight questions but does not include a final vote tally.