Sponsored by:
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators O'Scanlon, Diegnan, Turner, Zwicker and Vitale
SYNOPSIS
Requires minimum annual State appropriation of $10 million for Public Health Priority Funding.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning Public Health Priority Funding and supplementing P.L.1966, c.36.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Commencing on July 1 following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and annually thereafter, there shall be appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health a minimum amount of $10,000,000 for Public Health Priority Funding in accordance with this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill supplements the “Public Health Priority Funding Act of 1977” and requires a minimum annual State appropriation of $10 million for Public Health Priority Funding, thereby reinstating New Jersey’s only State appropriated, unrestricted fund for local health departments.
From 1966 to 2010, under the “State Health Aid Act” and later amended as the “Public Health Priority Funding Act of 1977,” the State provided local health departments with flexibility to address local needs, emerging threats, and other priorities via the appropriation of dedicated funds. The State eliminated Public Health Priority Funding in the FY 2011 Appropriations Act, undermining the ability of local health departments to operate as the front line service ensuring health of the public. For context, in FY 2010, Public Health Priority Funding amounted to approximately 15 percent of the total funding for local health departments.
Currently, local health departments in New Jersey are funded via local property taxes and State and federal funding that is designated for specific purposes, such as vaccines or environmental health services. The re-establishment of dedicated, Public Health Priority Funding is critical to allowing local health departments to plan for operational expenses and support core local public health programs.