STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Speight and Assemblyman Tully
SYNOPSIS
Requires hospitals to test for fentanyl and xylazine as part of urine drug screenings.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning urine drug screenings and supplementing P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section, “urine drug screening” means a chemical analysis intended to test a patient for the presence of multiple drugs, including, but not limited to, cocaine, opioids, and phencyclidine.
b. In the event that an individual is treated at a general acute care hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) and the hospital conducts a urine drug screening to assist in diagnosing the individual’s condition, the hospital shall include testing for fentanyl, xylazine, and any drug for which the Commissioner of Health has issued a public health alert on the risk of overdose from the illicit use of that drug in the individual’s urine drug screening.
c. If a urine drug screening conducted in accordance with subsection b. of this section detects fentanyl, xylazine, or, any drug for which the Commissioner of Health has issued a public health alert on the risk of overdose from the illicit use of that drug, the hospital shall report the test results, which shall be de-identified, to the Department of Health in a form and manner as shall be prescribed by the Commissioner of Health. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to revise or rescind any other mandatory reporting related to opioid drugs, drug overdoses, fentanyl, xylazine, or any other drug as may be required by any department, division, office, agency, or other instrumentality of the State.
d. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the provisions of section 4 of P.L.2013, c.46 (C.24:6J-4), section 7 of P.L.2013, c.46 (C.2C:35-30), or section 8 of P.L.2013, c.46 (C.2C:35-31), or to preclude a general acute care hospital without analyzer equipment for urinalysis from utilizing fentanyl test strips, xylazine test strips, or other drug test strips to comply with the provisions of this section.
2. This act shall take effect 90 days after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires hospitals that conduct a urine drug screening in the course of treating a patient to include in the screening testing for fentanyl, xylazine, and any drug for which the Commissioner of Health has issued a public health alert on the risk of overdose from the illicit use of that drug. If the urine drug screening detects fentanyl, xylazine, or any drug for which the Commissioner of Health has issued a public health alert on the risk of overdose from the illicit use of that drug, the hospital will be required to report the test results in a form and manner as prescribed by the Commissioner of Health.
Both fentanyl, which is a powerful synthetic opioid, and xylazine, which is a potent animal tranquilizer, have been associated with sharp increases in overdose deaths, exacerbating mortality rates in the already-deadly opioid epidemic. Both fentanyl and xylazine have been found in other street drugs, including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, with increasing frequency, and both drugs can increase the risk of a fatal overdose. Although some users of street drugs may specifically seek out fentanyl, xylazine, or both, others may be at increased risk of overdose because they are not aware these drugs may be present in the substances they are consuming.
Currently, hospital urine drug screenings do not routinely test for fentanyl or xylazine, which may result in delays in the patient receiving the level or type of treatment needed to reverse an overdose.