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A2225
ASSEMBLY, No. 2225
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Assemblywoman LUANNE M. PETERPAUL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblymen Schaer,
Sampson, Assemblywomen Bagolie and Swain
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires health care professionals to perform lead
screening on pregnant persons under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning lead screening and supplementing
P.L.1995, c.328 (C.26:2-137.2 et seq.).
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� As used in this act:
���� �Department� means the
Department of Health
���� �Lead screening� means the
application of a detection technique to measure a person�s blood lead level and
determine the extent of the person�s recent exposure to lead.
����� 2.�� a.�
A licensed health care professional, which shall include a licensed physician,
licensed physician assistant, certified advanced practice nurse, certified
nurse midwife, certified professional midwife, and certified midwife, who
provides prenatal maternity care to a pregnant person shall assess the person
for possible risk factors for lead exposure and elevated blood lead levels
based on the most recent guidelines and recommendations of the federal Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists.�
����� b.�� If
the health care professional cannot perform a required lead screening, the
health care professional may refer the patient, in writing, to another health
care professional who is able to perform the lead screening.
����� c.�� If
the health care professional receives laboratory test results indicating that
the pregnant person has an elevated blood lead level, the health care
professional shall notify the patient, in writing, about the test results and
shall additionally provide the patient with an explanation, in plain language,
of the significance of lead poisoning.� The health care professional shall also
take appropriate measures to ensure that any of the patient�s children or other
members of the patient�s household who are under the age of six are, or have
been, screened for lead exposure.
����� d.�� The
health care professional shall not be required to conduct lead screening under
this act if the patient objects to the testing in writing or if the health care
professional determines that another health care provider has already conducted
the lead screening required under this act.
���� e.���� The
health care professional shall comply with the blood sample collection
requirements specified in section 4 of P.L.1995, c.328 (C.26:2-137.5).
���� 3.��� A laboratory which
performs a lead screening test pursuant to subsection a. of section 2 of this
act shall report the test results to the department, the local health
department in the municipality in which the pregnant person who is the subject
of the test resides, and the health care professional that submitted the
specimen, within five business days of obtaining the test result.
���� 4.� a.� A record of all lead
screenings conducted pursuant to section 2 of this act shall be included in the
central database maintained by the department in accordance with provisions of
section 5 of P.L. 1995, c.328 (C.26:2-137.6).
���� b.� The information reported
to and compiled by the department pursuant to this act shall be confidential,
except that the department may make such statistical reports available using
information compiled from the database.� The information included in the
statistical reports shall exclude the name or other personal identifying
information of the pregnant person screened in accordance with all other
federal and State laws regarding the confidentiality of medical information.
���� 5.� The Commissioner of Health
shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative
Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) necessary to carry
out the provisions of this act.
���� 6. �This act shall take effect
on the first day of the third month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires a licensed
health care professional, which will include a licensed physician, licensed
physician assistant, certified advanced practice nurse, certified nurse
midwife, certified professional midwife, and certified midwife, who provides
prenatal maternity care to a pregnant person, to assess the person for possible
risk factors for lead exposure and elevated blood lead levels based on the most
recent guidelines and recommendations of the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists.
���� If the health care
professional cannot perform a required lead screening, the health care
professional may refer the patient to another health care professional who is
able to perform the lead screening.
���� The bill stipulates that if a
health care professional receives laboratory test results indicating that the
pregnant person has an elevated blood lead level, the health care professional
is to: notify the patient about the test results; provide the patient with an
explanation of the significance of lead poisoning; and ensure that any of the
patient�s children or other members of the patient�s household under the age of
six are, or have been, screened for lead exposure.
���� Under the bill, a health care
professional is:� (1) not required to conduct lead screening if the patient
objects to the testing in writing or if the health care professional determines
that another health care professional has already completed the lead screening
required under the bill; and (2) to comply with the blood sample collection
requirements specified in section 4 of P.L.1995, c.328 (C.26:2-137.5).
���� The bill requires a laboratory
which performs a lead screening test to report the test results to the
Department of Health (DOH), the local health department in the municipality in
which the pregnant person resides, and the health care professional that submitted
the specimen, within five business days of obtaining the test result.
���� A record of all lead
screenings conducted under the bill is to be included in the central database
maintained by the DOH as required under section 5 of P.L.1995, c.328
(C.26:2-137.6).� The information reported to and compiled by the DOH is
confidential, except that statistical reports may be made available using
information compiled from the database, excluding personal identifying
information.