Requires DOH to revise emergency response plan for pandemic influenzas.

A1321

ASSEMBLY, No. 1321

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman CODY D. MILLER

District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)

Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson and Assemblyman Hutchison

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires DOH to revise emergency response plan for
pandemic influenzas.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

concerning pandemic influenzas and supplementing
Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.� a.� The Department of
Health, in consultation with the State Office of Emergency Management, shall
revise the department�s Pandemic Influenza Plan, or its successor plan, to:

���� (1)� expand the scope of the
emergencies anticipated by the plan to cover long-running and large-scale
pandemic influenzas;

���� (2)� address each capability
as outlined in the most recent United States Department of Health and Human
Services� Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Capabilities:�
National Standards for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Public Health, or
such successor guidance as may be promulgated by the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention;

���� (3)� outline the specific
roles, succession plans, decision rights, and operational responsibilities of
each State agency during a public health emergency involving a pandemic
influenza;

���� (4)� outline the department�s
approach to coordinating each element of a pandemic influenza emergency
response with local health departments in New Jersey;

���� (5)� establish or identify
crisis standards of care to guide the healthcare response to pandemic
influenzas in the State; and

���� (6)� incorporate strategies to
address any health equity gaps related to pandemic influenzas, including any
gaps that were identified during the COVID-19 pandemic.

���� b.� In revising the plan
pursuant to this section, the department shall solicit input from the
Governor�s Office, local health departments, and other key public health
stakeholders as determined by the department.

���� c.� The plan shall be subject
to regular review by the department and the State Office of Emergency Management
and shall be updated on a regular basis as may be appropriate.

���� d.��� The plan shall be
utilized by the department and the State Office of Emergency Management to
design regular emergency response training exercises related to pandemic
influenzas.�

���� e.� As used in this section:

���� �Department� means the
Department of Health.

���� �Plan� means the Department of
Health�s Pandemic Influenza Plan, or its successor plan.

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

STATEMENT

���� The bill requires the
Department of Health (department), in consultation with the State of Emergency
Management, to revise the department�s Pandemic Influenza Plan, or its
successor plan.

���� The bill requires the
department to revise the plan to:

���� (1)� expand the scope of the
emergencies anticipated by the plan to cover long-running and large-scale
pandemic influenzas;

���� (2)� address each capability
as outlined in the most recent United States Department of Health and Human
Services Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Capabilities:�
National Standards for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Public Health, or
such successor guidance as may be promulgated by the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention;

���� (3)� outline the specific
roles, succession plans, decision rights, and operational responsibilities of
each State agency during a public health emergency involving a pandemic
influenza;

���� (4)� outline the department�s
approach to coordinating each element of a pandemic influenza emergency
response with local health departments in New Jersey;

���� (5)� establish or identify
crisis standards of care to guide the healthcare response to pandemic
influenzas in the State; and

���� (6)� incorporate strategies to
address any health equity gaps related to pandemic influenzas, including any
gaps that were identified during the COVID-19 pandemic.

���� In revising the plan pursuant
to the bill, the department will solicit input from the Governor�s Office,
local health departments, and other key public health stakeholders as
determined by the department.

���� The plan will be subject to
regular review by the department and the State Office of Emergency Management
and will be updated on a regular basis as may be appropriate.� The plan will be
utilized by the department and the State Office of Emergency Management to
design regular emergency response training exercises related to pandemic
influenzas.