Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Pennacchio and Singleton
SYNOPSIS
Requires converting portion of Paramus and Menlo Park veterans’ memorial homes into single occupancy and negative pressure ventilation rooms, and requires upgrades to ventilation systems.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the Paramus and Menlo Park veterans memorial homes and supplementing chapter 3 of Title 38A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Subject to the availability of federal funds provided or made accessible to the State via federal block grant funds allocated to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the federal funds provided or made accessible to the State from the federal “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” Publ.L.117-2, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs shall:
(1) convert at least one ward in the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home-Menlo Park and at least one ward in the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home-Paramus to single occupancy rooms with negative pressure ventilation to support infectious disease control measures; and
(2) upgrade the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to infection control system standards in the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home-Menlo Park and the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home-Paramus.
2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs such sums from those federal block grant funds provided or made accessible to the State from the federal “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” Pub.L.117-2, or any other federal funds made available to the State, as shall be necessary, in amounts subject to approval by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting, for use by the department to provide for the purposes specified in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
3. If the federal funds remaining are not sufficient, there shall be appropriated such sums from the General Fund as shall be necessary, in amounts subject to approval by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting, for use by the department to provide for the purposes specified in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under this bill and subject to the availability of federal funds provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and federal funds provided or made accessible to the State from the federal “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs will convert at least one ward in the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home-Menlo Park and at least one ward in the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home-Paramus to single occupancy rooms. The rooms will be equipped with negative pressure ventilation to support infectious disease control measures, and the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems will be upgraded throughout the two homes to infection control system standards.
If the federal funds are not sufficient to accomplish the conversions and upgrades, there will appropriated such sums from the General Fund as necessary, in amounts subject to approval by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting, for use by the department to accomplish the changes outlined in the bill.