New York Nursing Home Camera Laws: Three Bills, No Statute Yet

New York has no law giving a nursing home or assisted living resident a right to install a monitoring camera. Three separate bills are pending in the current legislative session, one of them further along than any prior attempt, but none has passed both houses.

Information last verified on 2026-08-14. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

This article covers New York law as it stands for a nursing home or assisted living resident considering a monitoring camera: the absence of a facility-specific statute, the state’s general one-party consent recording law, the three pending bills and their real status, and a Department of Health guidance document that already addresses facility-run cameras. It does not address New York’s general recording law outside a care facility in full; see New York Recording Laws for that framework.

Does New York Have a Nursing Home Camera Law?

No. Public Health Law section 2803-c, the statute that sets out a nursing home patient’s rights, covers civil liberties, private communications, medical care, and freedom from restraints, among other protections, but it says nothing about cameras or electronic monitoring devices. Assisted living residents’ rights under Public Health Law section 4660, the Article 46-B provision, are similarly silent. (New York has two sections numbered 4660 in force at once. The residents’-rights section is the Article 46-B one; a separate section 4660 under Article 46-A deals with continuing care retirement community withdrawals and refunds and has nothing to do with resident rights.) Both are the exact sections the pending bills described below would amend.

Because no statute exists, a resident or family in New York has no state-mandated consent form and no statutory anti-retaliation protection specific to installing a personal monitoring device. The decision runs on the facility’s own policy, layered on New York’s general one-party consent recording law.

New York's One-Party Consent Law, and Where the Pending Bills Add More

New York’s one-party consent rule comes from the eavesdropping statute, Penal Law section 250.05, read together with the definitions in section 250.00. Section 250.05 makes eavesdropping a class E felony, and section 250.00(2) defines the "mechanical overhearing of a conversation" that the offense reaches as recording a conversation "without the consent of at least one party thereto, by a person not present thereat." A participant who records is a consenting party present at the conversation, so the recording falls outside the offense. That is New York’s general one-party consent rule, and it is more permissive than the all-party consent states elsewhere in this cluster. Section 250.00 is a definitions section and confers no permission of its own, and nothing in it lets one person supply consent on another party’s behalf.

A camera in a nursing home resident’s own room, capturing the resident’s own interactions, generally fits within this framework the same way any one-party consent recording would. Where it gets more specific is audio capturing people other than the resident, such as a roommate or staff, which is exactly the scenario the pending bills address with their own consent mechanics, layered on top of, not replacing, the general one-party rule. Under S7190 and A1967B, audio capture would require separate written roommate consent plus a posted notice, a higher bar than New York’s general one-party consent rule alone would require. For the general framework governing recorded conversations anywhere in New York, not just a care facility, see New York Recording Laws.

Three Pending Bills, Two Different Tracks

New York currently has three active bills addressing nursing home electronic monitoring, running on two distinct legislative tracks.

S7190 and A1967B (the assisted-living-plus-nursing-home track). Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton’s S7190 and Assembly Member Amy Paulin’s companion, now in its second amended print as A1967B, would cover both assisted living residences and nursing homes. Under this bill, a resident or lawful representative could install a device at their own expense; a roommate or the roommate’s representative would need to give written consent before any installation; video capture would be limited to the resident’s own personal space, excluding a roommate’s space and shared bathing or toilet areas; and audio capture would require separate written roommate consent plus a posted notice. As of January 2026, S7190 remains in the Senate Aging Committee, but A1967B has advanced further, reported out of the Assembly Health Committee and ordered to a third reading, meaning it is now on the Assembly floor calendar rather than sitting in committee. This is the furthest-advanced version of any New York bill on this subject to date. Neither chamber has passed its version, and the bill is not law.

S3374 (the nursing-home-only track). Sen. Joseph Griffo’s S3374 is a separate bill covering nursing homes only, currently pending in the Senate Health Committee. It defines a covered device broadly, including internet-connected devices, and follows a similar resident-pays, own-expense model. This bill has a long history: the sponsor’s own memo states essentially the same measure has been introduced and failed in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, and now 2025, most recently as its 2023-2024 predecessor, S1440, which died in committee without passage.

Neither track has passed both houses of the New York Legislature or been signed into law. A reader should not treat either bill as a current right.

A Real DOH Guidance Document, But Not a Resident Right

The New York State Department of Health issued a Dear Administrator Letter in 2012 (DAL NH 12-03) addressing video and audio surveillance equipment in nursing homes. It confirms that facilities "have the right to develop policy and procedures regarding the use or the non-use of video and/or audio surveillance equipment in any part of their facility including resident rooms," and it requires a facility to inform residents and families about its own security camera program at admission and on an ongoing basis.

This guidance is real and directly on point for "does the state say anything about cameras in a New York nursing home," but it addresses the facility’s own surveillance program, not a family’s personal monitoring device. A facility running its own camera system under this guidance is a separate question from whether a resident or family has a right to install their own, which remains unaddressed by any enacted New York statute.

Practical Guidance Under the No-Statute Reality

Without an enacted statute, a New York family’s options run through the facility’s own policy, informed by what the pending bills would eventually require.

• Ask whether the facility already runs its own camera program. DOH’s 2012 guidance means many New York facilities already have a security camera policy that predates any personal-device question.
• Check the admission agreement before installing a personal device, and put the request in writing.
• Get written roommate consent for a shared room, consistent with what all three pending bills would require, even though no statute currently mandates it. Disclosure matters more than the pending bills do: a camera the roommate knows about and consents to is outside the reach of Penal Law section 250.45, which turns on surreptitious recording without the subject’s knowledge or consent.
• Treat a concealed camera in a shared room as the highest-scrutiny item, video included, because section 250.45 presumes a device installed in a bedroom was installed for no legitimate purpose. Audio capturing a roommate or visitor carries its own added scrutiny, since the pending bills single out audio for a stricter written-consent-plus-notice standard beyond New York’s general one-party rule.

Hidden Cameras: The Practical and Legal Risk

A disclosed video camera in a resident’s own private room, capturing primarily the resident’s own activity, generally sits within New York’s one-party consent framework the same way any personal recording would.

Concealment in a shared room is the part families most often get backwards. Video is not the safe option there. Penal Law section 250.45(3)(a) makes a person guilty of unlawful surveillance in the second degree, a class E felony, when "for no legitimate purpose, he or she intentionally uses or installs, or permits the utilization or installation of an imaging device to surreptitiously view, broadcast or record a person in a bedroom ... without such person’s knowledge or consent." Section 250.40(2) defines an imaging device broadly, as "any mechanical, digital or electronic viewing device, camera, cellular phone or any other instrument capable of recording, storing or transmitting visual images," which reaches an ordinary consumer monitoring camera. And section 250.45(3)(b) adds a rebuttable presumption: when a person installs an imaging device in a bedroom, "there is a rebuttable presumption that such person did so for no legitimate purpose." The burden of explanation runs against whoever installed it.

That is why a concealed video-only camera in a shared nursing home room, capturing a roommate dressing or undressing, is the higher-exposure scenario rather than the lower one. Audio carries its own exposure under the eavesdropping statute when a hidden device captures a roommate’s or staff member’s private conversation, and either can violate the facility’s own DOH-guided camera policy without disclosure.

There is also a practical risk separate from the legal one: a facility that discovers an undisclosed camera can treat it as a violation of the admission agreement, and New York has no statute today barring a facility from responding with discharge or non-renewal the way S7190 or S3374 would if either became law. Families should weigh both risks before relying on a hidden device.

Using Camera Footage as Evidence of Abuse or Neglect

Camera footage that appears to show abuse or neglect can support a report to the New York State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or the Department of Health, and it can support a civil claim. Footage generally works alongside the resident’s medical records, staffing records, and care plan rather than establishing a claim on its own. For a broader look at how a nursing home abuse or neglect claim works, see Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect.

New York's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

The New York State Office for the Aging administers the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which the state describes as working "to protect the health, safety, welfare, human and civil rights of people living in nursing homes and adult care facilities." It is the state’s established channel for residents and families to raise care concerns, including anything a camera reveals.

Related Resources

• Nursing Home Camera Laws by State covers which states have an enacted electronic monitoring statute and how New York compares.
• New York Recording Laws covers the state’s general one-party consent framework for conversations outside a nursing facility.
• Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect covers how an abuse or neglect claim works once evidence, including camera footage, is in hand.

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Last updated: 2026-08-14.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to put a camera in a New York nursing home room?

New York has no statute directly addressing this. A disclosed camera capturing a resident’s own activity in a private room generally fits within New York’s one-party consent framework, the same rule that applies to any personal recording. There is no facility-specific right or procedure, so it runs on the facility’s own policy. A concealed camera in a shared room is a different question: Penal Law section 250.45 makes surreptitiously recording someone in a bedroom for no legitimate purpose a class E felony, and it presumes a device installed in a bedroom was installed for no legitimate purpose.

How close is New York to passing a nursing home camera law?

Closer than most bill states. A1967B, the Assembly version of the S7190 bill covering both nursing homes and assisted living, has passed committee and reached the third reading floor calendar as of January 2026. It has not passed the full Assembly or the Senate, and it is not law.

What is the difference between S7190/A1967B and S3374?

S7190 and A1967B are companion bills covering both assisted living residences and nursing homes and are the furthest advanced. S3374 is a separate, nursing-home-only bill with a longer legislative history, dating back in various forms to 2017. Both remain pending and neither is law.

Does New York already allow nursing homes to run their own security cameras?

Yes, and this is already addressed by state guidance. A 2012 Department of Health letter (DAL NH 12-03) confirms facilities may develop their own video and audio surveillance policy, including in resident rooms, as long as residents and families are informed. This is separate from a resident’s right to install a personal device, which no statute currently creates.

Is New York one-party or all-party consent for a nursing home camera?

New York is generally one-party consent. The rule comes from the eavesdropping statute, Penal Law section 250.05, read with the definitions in section 250.00, which reach the recording of a conversation without the consent of at least one party by someone not present at it. The pending bills would add a stricter requirement specifically for audio capturing a roommate or others, written consent plus posted notice, on top of that general rule, but that heightened standard is not current law.

Is a video-only camera safer than one that records audio in New York?

Not necessarily, and in a shared room the opposite can be true. Penal Law section 250.45(3)(a) makes it a class E felony to install an imaging device for no legitimate purpose to surreptitiously record a person in a bedroom without their knowledge or consent, and section 250.45(3)(b) presumes a device installed in a bedroom was installed for no legitimate purpose. A hidden video camera that captures a roommate dressing carries real exposure even with the audio turned off. Disclosure and roommate consent are what reduce the risk, not the choice between video and audio.

Where do I report suspected abuse if I see something on a camera in New York?

Contact the New York State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program through the Office for the Aging, or the Department of Health. Footage can support a report or a civil claim, though it is typically reviewed alongside medical and staffing records.