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S2353 SHH Statement 6/11/26
SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No.
2353
STATE
OF NEW JERSEY
DATED:
�JUNE
11, 2026
����� The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens
Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 2353.
����� This bill requires the Department of Health
(department), in collaboration with the
State Office
of Emergency Management
, to establish a Statewide strategic essential
buffer stock for emergency preparedness and drug shortage prevention to be used
and dispensed in the event of public health emergency, outbreak, or other
emergency, including, but not limited to a natural disaster, man-made disaster,
or mass casualty event at the local and State level.
����� The bill defines �essential buffer stock� to mean an
essential buffer stock of emergency and chronic disease medication, vaccines,
and medical supplies, an essential medicine reserve, or a strategic inventory
of essential medicines.
����� Under the bill, the department, in collaboration the
State Office of Emergency Management
, will establish
guidelines for the procurement, management, and distribution of medicines,
vaccines, and medical supplies items in the essential buffer stock.
����� The bill requires the department, in consultation with
the State Office of Emergency Management and other relevant agencies, define a
list of entities that may receive resources from the essential buffer stock.
����� The department may contract with a private entity for
the procurement of strategic emergency readiness supplies for, and the
management and distribution of, the essential buffer stock, including a
virtually sequestered buffer stock.� The department may contract for the
reservation of supplies stored by a private vendor-managed entity for the
essential buffer stock, and the distribution of those supplies to locations
specified by the department, consistent with the guidelines established
pursuant to the bill.
����� The bill requires the department, in collaboration
with the State Office of Emergency Management, and other stakeholders, as
necessary, to conduct demand planning and essential buffer stock modeling to
help determine which emergency readiness supplies are to be included in the
essential buffer stock at the discretion of the department.� In maintaining and
securing supplies pursuant to the bill, the department will seek to maximize
available federal and State funding to implement the provisions of this bill.
����� The bill appropriates from the General Fund to the
department such sums as are necessary to implement the provisions of the bill.
����� This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the
2026-2027 session pending technical review.� As reported, the bill includes the
changes required by technical review, which has been performed.