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A1750
ASSEMBLY, No. 1750
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)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator
position; appropriates funds.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
establishing the position of Statewide Opioid Antidote
Coordinator supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes, and making an
appropriation.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in this act:
���� "Emergency medical
response entity" means an organization, company, governmental entity,
community-based program, or healthcare system that provides pre-hospital
emergency medical services and assistance and is qualified to send paid or
volunteer emergency medical responders to the scene of an emergency.�
"Emergency medical response entity" includes, but is not limited to,
a first aid, rescue and ambulance squad or other basic life support ambulance
provider; a mobile intensive care provider or other advanced life support
ambulance provider; an air medical service provider; or a fire-fighting company
or organization.
���� "Law enforcement
agency" means a department, division, bureau, commission, board, or other
authority of the State or of any political subdivision thereof which employs
law enforcement officers.
���� "Opioid antidote"
means any drug, regardless of dosage amount or method of administration, which
has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for
the treatment of an opioid overdose.� "Opioid antidote� includes, but is
not limited to, naloxone hydrochloride, in any dosage amount, which is
administered through nasal spray or any other FDA-approved means or methods.
���� "Recognized place of
public access" means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of
P.L.2013, c.46 (C.24:6J-3).
���� "Sterile syringe access
program" means a program established pursuant to the provisions of
P.L.2006, c.99 (C.26:5C-25 et al.).�
���� 2.��� a.� The Commissioner of
Human Services shall establish, within the Department of Human Services, the
Office of the Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator.
���� b.��� The commissioner shall
appoint a Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator, who shall serve at the
pleasure of the commissioner, and who shall have experience in one or more of
the following areas:� mental health and substance use disorders; law
enforcement; health care; health policy; or procurement and processing.
���� c.���� The commissioner shall
assign such administrative and clerical staff as shall be necessary to support
the Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator in the performance of the
coordinator�s duties.
���� d.��� At a minimum, the
Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator shall be responsible for:
���� (1)�� overseeing the bulk
purchasing and distribution of opioid antidotes on behalf of:
���� (a)�� all State, county, and
local governmental agencies;
���� (b)�� upon request by an
entity that distributes or administers opioid antidotes in the State, other
than a pharmacy, overseeing the purchase of opioid antidotes on behalf of, and
distributing opioid antidotes to, the entity, which entities may include, but
shall not be limited to:� emergency medical response entities, law enforcement
agencies, recognized places of public access, public and nonpublic schools, and
sterile syringe access programs;
���� (2)�� working and liaising
with the Department of Health, the Office of the Attorney General, the New
Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Coordinator for Addiction Responses and
Enforcement Strategies in the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the
Governor, and other governmental entities as may be necessary to support those
entities in the performance of their duties as those duties relate to the
purchase, distribution, and administration of opioid antidotes; and
���� (3)�� establishing and
maintaining an Internet website that provides information to the public
concerning opioid antidotes, including information concerning the nature of
opioid antidotes, the administration of opioid antidotes, access to opioid
antidotes, and responding to a suspected opioid overdose.
���� e.���� The Office of the
Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator shall be supported by such federal funds
as may be available for this purpose, as well as by an annual appropriation in
an amount as may be needed to ensure the office is fully funded and supported.
���� 3.��� The Commissioner of
Human Services shall prepare and submit an annual report to the Governor and,
pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature,
describing the activities of the Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator over the
prior year, including the total quantity of opioid antidotes purchased and
distributed by the Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator, the types of entities
to which opioid antidotes were distributed and the quantity of opioid antidotes
distributed to each type of entity, estimated cost savings realized through the
use of bulk purchasing of opioid antidotes, public information and outreach
initiatives undertaken by the Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator, and any
other information the commissioner determines to be necessary and appropriate.
���� 4.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Department of Human Services such sums as are
necessary to establish and maintain the website required pursuant to paragraph
(3) of subsection d. of section 2 of this act.
���� 5.��� The Commissioner of
Human Services may adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to
implement the provisions of this act.
���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect the first day of the third month next following the date of enactment,
except that the Commissioner of Human Services may take such anticipatory
administrative action in advance as may be necessary to implement the
provisions of this act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes the
Office of the Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator in the Department of Human
Services and makes an appropriation.�
���� Under the bill, the
Commissioner of Human Services will appoint a Statewide Opioid Antidote
Coordinator, who will serve at the pleasure of the commissioner.� The Statewide
Opioid Antidote Coordinator will be required to have prior experience in mental
health and substance use disorders, law enforcement, health care, health
policy, or procurement and processing.� The commissioner will assign
administrative and clerical staff as necessary to support the activities of the
Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator.
���� The Statewide Opioid Antidote
Coordinator will be responsible for:
���� 1)��� overseeing the bulk
purchasing and distribution of opioid antidotes on behalf of all State
agencies, as well as certain other entities that distribute or administer
opioid antidotes, including, but not limited to, emergency medical response
entities, law enforcement agencies, recognized places of public access, public
and nonpublic schools, and sterile syringe access programs, when those entities
request assistance with purchasing opioid antidotes;
���� 2)��� working and liaising
with the Department of Health, the Office of the Attorney General, the New
Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Coordinator for Addiction Responses and
Enforcement Strategies in the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the
Governor, and other governmental entities as may be necessary to support those
entities in the performance of their duties as those duties relate to the
purchase, distribution, and administration of opioid antidotes; and
���� 3)��� establishing and
maintaining an Internet website that provides information to the public
concerning opioid antidotes, including information concerning the nature of
opioid antidotes, the administration of opioid antidotes, access to opioid
antidotes, and responding to a suspected opioid overdose.
���� The Office of the Statewide
Opioid Antidote Coordinator will be supported by such federal funds as may be
available for this purpose, as well as by an annual appropriation in an amount
as may be needed to ensure the office is fully funded.� In addition, the bill
requires an appropriation be made to the Department of Human Services from the
General Fund to support the establishment of the opioid antidote information
website.
���� The Commissioner of Human
Services will be required to prepare and submit an annual report to the
Governor and the Legislature describing the activities of the Statewide Opioid
Antidote Coordinator over the prior year, including the total quantity of opioid
antidotes purchased and distributed by the coordinator, the types of entities
to which opioid antidotes were distributed and the quantity of opioid antidotes
distributed to each type of entity, estimated cost savings realized through the
use of bulk purchasing of opioid antidotes, public information and outreach
initiatives undertaken by the coordinator, and any other information the
commissioner determines to be necessary and appropriate.
���� According to the Department of
Health, between June 2017 and April 2021, emergency medical services providers
and law enforcement alone administered more than 54,000 doses of opioid
antidotes in New Jersey.� Opioid antidotes are an essential component of the
State�s response to the opioid epidemic, and have been a proven resource that
saves the lives of New Jerseyans.�
���� It is the sponsor�s view that,
given the critical role opioid antidotes play in responding to the opioid
epidemic, it is essential to create an Office of the Statewide Opioid Antidote
Coordinator in order to facilitate the ability of State, county, and local
governmental entities, as well as law enforcement, first responders, and public
health providers, to access, dispense, and administer opioid antidotes in a
comprehensive, efficient, and cost-effective manner.