SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3496

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  OCTOBER 28, 2024

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3496.

      This bill establishes the “New Jersey Reproductive Health Care Equitable Access Fund” and provides for a designation on the State gross income tax return that will permit taxpayers to make voluntary contributions to the fund to support equitable access to reproductive health care services for individuals who cannot afford them.

      Under the bill, the State would be required to annually appropriate the amounts deposited into the “New Jersey Reproductive Health Care Equitable Access Fund” for distribution, in equal amounts, to the three largest providers of reproductive health care services to Medicaid patients in the State during the previous calendar year, as determined by the Commissioner of Health.  The bill requires these monies to be used to provide reproductive health care services to individuals who cannot afford such services.

      The bill defines "reproductive health care services" to mean medical, surgical, counseling, or referral services relating to the human reproductive system, including services relating to pregnancy or the termination of a pregnancy.