The spread of COVID-19 through nursing homes in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic is still in the state Legislature’s spotlight two years after the fact.

Several Democrats are backing legislation that would establish a two-year statute of limitations for families to sue for damages after personal injury or the death of a loved one at a nursing home during the COVID-19 state of emergency. Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Bronx, introduced the bill in the Senate on Tuesday as a companion to legislation filed in January by Assemblyman Ron Kim, D-Queens, and co-sponsored by five Democrats.

“Over 15,000 residents of nursing homes in New York State have passed away due to negligence by nursing home facilities and the policies promulgated by the state government, such as the March 25, 2020 executive order to send COVID-positive patients to nursing homes and the granting of legal immunity for nursing home executives,” Kim and Biaggi wrote in their legislative justification. “While legal immunity for nursing homes to evade liability for damages residents have incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic has since been repealed, justice for victims of these facilities must still be realized. …. The legislature must ensure that injustices of this nature cannot happen on a massive scale ever again in this state.”

The 15,000 nursing home deaths and the March 25, 2020, executive order by Gov. Andrew Cuomo are the centerpieces of Republican calls for further investigation into COVID nursing home deaths. Republicans made their latest call on Wednesday, attempting to attach an amendment to S.968 that requires service providers to prepare and submit emergency response plans.

Several Republicans stood to support the bill while calling for an investigation into nursing home deaths.

“Today on our advocacy day for the We Care Remembrance Day, someone had a sign held up that said this is 15,000 people,” said Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay. “It showed a huge square packed with people shoulder to shoulder. Those are the 15,000 families that suffered a loss because of the March 25 directive that Andrew Cuomo, now two years ago, really assaulted the senior citizens with. Fifteen thousand families. Fifteen thousand loved ones. But here’s what we have zero of — zero subpoenas, zero investigations and zero accountability. We have to go from that to ensuring that this never happens. And that will only happen if we apply the same type of diligence that this bill calls for. We need answers. We need accountability and, at the end of the day, we need New Yorkers to have faith that we stand with them in doing our number one job, which is to protect them.”

While there has been no legislative inquiry into nursing home deaths, Attorney General Letitia James released an investigation into nursing home deaths in January 2021 that showed the state Health Department had undercounted nursing home deaths. Last week, an audit by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found nursing home deaths were undercounted by 4,071 during a 10-month period from April 2020 to February 2021.

Sen. Phil Boyle, R-Bay Shore, pointed to Cuomo’s treatment of Kim as another aspect of Cuomo’s COVID-19 response that should be investigated. In February 2021, Kim said Cuomo had vowed to “destroy” him during a private phone call for criticism the governor felt was unfair. Cuomo denied the allegation, then used a call with reporters to blast Kim, one of nine Democrats who signed a letter seeking support for the proposal to limit his emergency powers.

“I really wish we were voting on this amendment as well,” Boyle said. “We need an investigation. The numbers are in question. I had constituents who died of COVID after they got in the ambulance from the nursing home, two blocks away on the way to the hospital, according to the former administration, they were not nursing home deaths. I want to thank Janice Dean. I want to thank all my colleagues. And I also want to get to the answers. What about the threatening phone call that the former governor made to Ron Kim? We need an investigation of that.”