Establishes New Jersey Center for Study and Prevention of Suicide at Rutgers School of Public Health; appropriates $500,000.

A2083

ASSEMBLY, No. 2083

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson and Assemblyman Venezia

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes New Jersey Center for Study and
Prevention of Suicide at Rutgers School of Public Health; appropriates
$500,000.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

establishing a New Jersey Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide,

supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey
Statutes
, and making an appropriation
.

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

���� 1.��� a.� There is established
a New Jersey Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, hereinafter
referred to as the center, at the Rutgers School of Public Health.� The purpose
of the center shall be to research the causes of and prevention and reduction
measures for suicide.

���� b.��� The center shall conduct
research and derive scientific evidence on which sound suicide prevention
policies and programs may be based.� The center�s research shall include, but
not be limited to, the following:

���� (1)�� the nature of suicide,
including individual and societal determinants of suicide;

���� (2)�� the individual,
community, and societal consequences of suicide; and

���� (3)�� treatment for suicidal
thoughts at the individual, community, and societal levels.

���� c.���� The center shall work
on a continuing basis with State policymakers to identify, implement, and
evaluate innovative suicide prevention policies and programs.

���� d.��� To help ensure a
successful, long-term effort to understand and prevent suicides, the center
shall recruit and provide specialized training opportunities for new
researchers who have recently completed college degrees.

���� e.���� As a supplement to its
own research, the center may administer a small grant program for research on
suicide.� Research funds under the grant program shall be awarded on the basis
of merit as determined by an open, competitive peer review process that assures
objectivity, consistency, and high quality.�

����� 2.�� State departments and
agencies including, but not limited to, the Department of Health, the
Department of Law and Public Safety, the
Division
of
State Police, and the Department of Human Services shall provide to
the center, upon request, data necessary for the center to conduct research.

���� 3.��� One year following the
establishment of the New Jersey Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide,
and every five years thereafter, the Rutgers School of Public Health shall
submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2
of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), regarding the work of the center.� The
report shall include, but not be limited to, information on the center�s
current research projects, the amount and sources of funding utilized, and the
future direction of the center�s research.� If the center administers a grant
program for suicide research, the report also shall include information on the
grants made, pending grants, and accomplishments of the program.

���� 4.��� The center and any
recipients of grants awarded by the center shall provide copies of their
research publications to the Governor, to the Legislature pursuant to section 2
of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and to any State departments or agencies
that supplied data used in connection with that research, as soon as
practicable following publication.

����� 5.�� a.�
There is appropriated from the General Fund to
Rutgers, The State University, the sum of $500,000 to effectuate the provisions
of this act.

����� b.� The Legislature shall
, in addition to the funds appropriated pursuant to
P.L.�� , c.�� (C.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill),

annually appropriate such monies as are necessary to fund the activities and
research of the New Jersey Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide.�

����
c.
���� The center may solicit and accept any grants, gifts,
donations, or other funds from public or private sources, which may be
available for research related to suicide.

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

STATEMENT

����� This bill establishes the New Jersey Center for the
Study and Prevention of Suicide at the Rutgers School of Public Health.

����� The purpose of the center is to research the causes
of and prevention and reduction measures for suicide. The center is to conduct
research and derive scientific evidence on which sound suicide prevention
policies and programs may be based. The center�s research is to include the
following: (1) the nature of suicide, including individual and societal
determinants of suicide; (2) the individual, community, and societal
consequences of suicide; and (3) treatment for suicidal thoughts at the
individual, community, and societal levels.

����� The bill requires the center to work on a continuing
basis with State policymakers to identify, implement, and evaluate innovative
suicide prevention policies and programs. To help ensure a successful,
long-term effort to understand and prevent suicides, the center is to recruit
and provide specialized training opportunities for new researchers who have
recently completed college degrees. As a supplement to its own research, the
center may administer a small grant program for research on suicide. Research funds
under the grant program are to be awarded on the basis of merit as determined
by an open, competitive peer review process that assures objectivity,
consistency, and high quality.

����� The bill provides that, one year following the
establishment of the center, the Rutgers School of Public Health is to submit a
report to the Governor and Legislature regarding the work of the center.� The
report is to include information on the center�s current research projects, the
amount and sources of funding utilized, and the future direction of the
center�s research. If the center administers a grant program for suicide
research, the report is to also include information on the grants made, pending
grants, and accomplishments of the program.

����� The bill appropriates $500,000 to the center and requires
that the Legislature is to annually appropriate such monies as are necessary to
fund the activities and research of the center.� The center may solicit and
accept any grants, gifts, donations, or other funds from public or private
sources, which may be available for research related to suicide.