Requires automatic registration with New Jersey Immunization Information System upon administration of vaccine for certain persons who consent to registration.

A1016

ASSEMBLY, No. 1016

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman BALVIR SINGH

District 7 (Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires automatic registration with New Jersey
Immunization Information System upon administration of vaccine for certain
persons who consent to registration.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning vaccinations and amending P.L.2004, c.138.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� Section 4 of P.L.2004,
c.138 (C.26:4-134) is amended to read as follows:

���� 4.� a. There is established a
Statewide automated and electronic immunization registry, to be designated as
the New Jersey Immunization Information System, in the Department of Health.�
The registry shall be designed to serve as a single repository of immunization
records to aid, coordinate, and help promote effective and cost-efficient
disease screening, prevention, and control efforts in the State.

���� b.���
(1)
� A newborn
infant in New Jersey, who is born on or after January 1, 1998, shall be
enrolled in the registry immediately following birth unless the parent or legal
guardian of the infant provides a written request to not participate in the
registry.�

����
(2)
� A child born prior
to January 1, 1998 may be enrolled in the registry at the parent's or legal
guardian's written request.

����
(3)� Any person not
currently enrolled in the registry shall be enrolled at the time the person is
administered an immunization, unless the person or the person�s parent or legal
guardian, in the case of a person who is younger than 18 years of age, provides
a written request to not participate in the registry.

���� c.��� Access to the
information in the registry shall be limited to:� health care providers,
schools, colleges, licensed child care centers, and public agencies, and
private organizations as determined by regulation of the commissioner.� A
registrant, or the registrant's parent or legal guardian if the registrant is a
minor, shall have access to the registrant's immunization and other preventive
health screening information in the registry.

���� d.��� The information
contained in the registry shall be used for the following purposes:

���� (1)� to help ensure that
registrants receive all recommended immunizations in a timely manner by
providing access to the registrants' immunization records;

���� (2)� to help improve
immunization rates by providing notice to registrants of overdue or upcoming
immunizations; and

���� (3)� to help control
communicable diseases by assisting in the identification of persons who require
immediate immunization in the event of a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak.

���� e.��� The authentic
immunization and other preventive health screening record of a child, which
shall consist of a paper or electronic copy of the registry entry that is a
true and accurate representation of the information contained therein, obtained
from the registry shall be accepted as a valid immunization and preventive
health screening record of the registrant for the purpose of meeting
immunization and preventive health screening documentation requirements for
admission to a school, college, or licensed child care center.

���� f.���� A health care provider
shall not discriminate in any way against a person solely because the person
elects not to participate in the registry.

���� g.��� An authorized user
granted access as provided in subsection c. of this section shall only access
information in the registry on a specific patient or client who is presently
receiving services, is under the user's care or is within the applicable
governmental health authority's jurisdiction.

���� h.��� An agency, organization,
or other entity authorized to access information in the registry shall not use
any report made by a health care provider pursuant to this act in any punitive
manner against the provider.

���� i.���� The commissioner, in
consultation with the Public Health Council, shall adopt rules and regulations,
pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act, including, but not
limited to:

���� (1)� the establishment and
maintenance of the registry;

���� (2)� the methods for
submitting, and the content of, reports of immunizations to the registry, for
which purpose the commissioner shall provide, to the maximum extent
practicable, for reporting options to facilitate compliance with the
requirements of subsection b. of this section;

���� (3)� procedures for the birth
hospital of a newborn infant or health care provider, as applicable, to inform
the parent or legal guardian of a newborn infant or minor of the purpose of the
registry and its potential uses by parties having authorized access to registry
information, and the content of that information;

���� (4)� procedures for a
registrant, or the registrant's parent or legal guardian if the registrant is a
minor, to review and correct information contained in the registry;

���� (5)� procedures for the parent
or legal guardian of a newborn infant or minor, or a person over 18 years of
age, to request to not participate in the registry at any time and to remove or
inactivate information from the registry;

���� (6)� limits on, and methods
of, access to the registry by those authorized pursuant to subsection c. of
this section;

���� (7)� procedures for health
insurers to obtain immunization information from the registry concerning only
their covered persons, as well as summary statistics, which information or
statistics shall not be used or disclosed for any other purpose than to:

���� (a)�� improve patient care;

���� (b)� provide quality assurance
to employers purchasing group coverage and to health care providers;

���� (c)�� improve outreach and
education efforts with respect to their covered persons and health care
providers; and

���� (d)� monitor and improve
quality of care standards as developed by professional organizations,
accreditation agencies and government agencies in collaboration with the
department; and

���� (8)� procedures for the
department to disseminate statistical information and supporting commentary.

(cf: P.L.2012, c.17, s.340)

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires automatic
registration with the New Jersey Immunization Information System (NJIIS) upon
the administration of a vaccine for persons who are not currently registered
with the NJIIS and unless the person or the person�s parent or legal guardian,
in the case of a person younger than 18 years of age, provides a written
request not to participate in the registry.�

���� The NJIIS is a Statewide
database that maintains records of individual vaccination histories.�
Individuals born after January 1, 1998 are automatically included in the
registry, unless the individual�s parent or guardian provides a written request
that the person not be included in the registry; individuals born prior to
January 1, 1998 may be included in the registry by written request.

���� This bill requires any person
who is not currently enrolled in the registry to be automatically enrolled at
the time the person is administered a vaccine, unless the person or the
person�s parent or legal guardian, in the case of a person younger than 18
years of age, provides a written request not to participate in the registry.