STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CONNIE WAGNER
District 38 (Bergen)
Assemblyman GORDON M. JOHNSON
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblywoman CARIDAD RODRIGUEZ
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Diegnan, Fuentes, Prieto, Caputo, Giblin, Assemblywomen Voss, Handlin, Assemblyman Schroeder, Assemblywoman Angelini, Assemblyman Coutinho, Assemblywoman N.Munoz and Assemblyman McKeon
SYNOPSIS
Requires collection of additional fee on request for certified copy of newborn's original birth record for support of certain activities by public cord blood bank.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning birth certificates and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. In addition to the fee for issuing the initial certified copy of the original birth record of a newborn in this State, the local registrar or the Department of Health and Senior Services, as appropriate, shall collect a $5 fee from the person requesting the certified copy and forward the collected fees on a quarterly basis to the Department of the Treasury.
2. a. There is established in the Department of the Treasury a nonlapsing revolving fund to be known as the "New Jersey Public Cord Blood Bank Fund." This fund shall be the repository for moneys collected pursuant to section 1 of this act. The moneys from the fund shall be used for the purpose of supporting the activities of the State-designated public cord blood bank in collecting and storing umbilical cord blood for public use.
b. The State Treasurer is the custodian of the fund and all disbursements from the fund shall be made by the State Treasurer upon vouchers signed by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, or the commissioner's designee. The moneys in the fund shall be invested and reinvested by the Director of the Division of Investment in the Department of the Treasury as are other trust funds in the custody of the State Treasurer in the manner provided by law. Interest received on the moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
3. Pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment and shall apply to initial certified copies of original birth records issued on or after that date, but the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that the Department of Health and Senior Services, or local registrar, as appropriate, would collect, in addition to the $25 fee for issuing the initial certified copy of the original birth record of a newborn in this State, a $5 fee that would be deposited in a nonlapsing revolving fund, to be known as the "New Jersey Public Cord Blood Bank Fund." The moneys in the fund would be used for the purpose of supporting the State-designated public cord blood bank in collecting and storing umbilical cord blood for public use.
The New Jersey Cord Blood Bank (NJCBB) at Community Blood Services, which is a nonprofit organization, is the State-designated public cord blood bank. NJCBB allows for donation of a newborn's umbilical cord blood so that its stem cells can be used by a child or adult suffering from cancer or other life-threatening diseases. There is no charge to donate to this nonprofit public bank. NJCBB accepts umbilical cord blood from newborns delivered at over 25 hospitals throughout the State.