Bill Text: NJ A1243 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Emergency Medical Services Provider Safety Grant Program in DOH; appropriates $10 million.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health Committee [A1243 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A1243-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Emergency Medical Services Provider Safety Grant Program in DOH; appropriates $10 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning emergency medical services providers, supplementing Title 26 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 services provider" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 1 of P.L.2017, c.116 (C.26:2K-66).
"Personal protective equipment" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 1 of P.L.2020, c.135 (C.26:2H-12.100).
2. a. Notwithstanding the provision of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Commissioner of Health shall establish the EMS Provider Safety Grant Program to award one-time, competitive grants to providers of emergency medical services to offset the costs associated with the purchase of:
(1) personal protective equipment;
(2) protective clothing, such as footwear, gloves, or eyewear;
(3) cleaning and advanced cleaning equipment; and
(4) other virus protection equipment as may be determined to be appropriate by the commissioner.
b. Grant amounts and awards shall be dependent upon the availability of funds. The grant program will expire once the available funding, appropriated pursuant to section 5 of this act, has been expended.
c. Eligible grant applicants shall be emergency medical services providers, which currently provide services in the State.
d. The commissioner shall develop an online application and a process by which emergency medical services providers may apply for funding through the EMS Provider Safety Grant Program established pursuant to this act.
e. Emergency medical services providers shall be required to submit, as part of the grant application process:
(1) a description of the emergency medical services provider's intended use of funding awarded pursuant to the grant program; and
(2) a list of the personnel or outside consultants, if any, who will be responsible for managing the grant funds, awarded pursuant to this act, and the purchase of safety equipment.
f. The commissioner shall establish procedures and criteria for reviewing and awarding grants under the EMS Provider Safety Grant Program. In awarding funding to emergency medical services providers for the purchase of safety equipment, the commissioner shall give preference to grant applicants based upon:
(1) the scope of provider need, as demonstrated by equipment need, annual number of service calls, number of active emergency medical services personnel, and service area population;
(2) the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the emergency medical services provider, as demonstrated by the burden of illness among the emergency medical services provider's personnel and the local community served by the provider; and
(3) the strength of the applicant's proposed plan to use the grant funds for the purchase of approved safety items and equipment.
3. The Commissioner of Health shall report to the Governor and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) within one year after the effective date of this act on the number of grants awarded and the number of safety items procured through the EMS Provider Safety Grant Program.
4. The Commissioner of Health shall adopt such rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the requirements of this act.
5. From the federal "Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund" monies allocated to the State, pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, $10,000,000 shall be appropriated to the Department of Health to establish the EMS Provider Safety Grant Program and implement the provisions of this act.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The bill establishes the EMS Provider Safety Grant Program in the Department of Health to award one-time, competitive grants to emergency medical services (EMS) providers to offset the costs of purchasing safety equipment. It is the intent of the bill's sponsor to protect the health and safety of these essential first responders by ensuring that EMS providers have sufficient funding for crucial safety equipment.
Under the bill, EMS providers will be eligible to apply for grands through the EMS Provider Safety Grant Program. Expenditures eligible for reimbursement under the grant program include those for the purchase of: personal protective equipment, such as N-95 masks and disposable gloves; protective clothing, such as footwear or safety eyewear; advanced cleaning equipment; and any other virus protection equipment as may be determined appropriate by the Commissioner of Health.
Grant awards and amounts will be dependent upon the availability of State fiscal resources. The grant program, additionally, will expire once the funding has been expended.
Pursuant to the bill, the commissioner is required to develop an online application and a process by which EMS providers may apply for grants through the program. As part of the grant application, EMS providers are required to include: 1) a description of the applicant's intended use of the grant funding; and 2) a list of the personnel or outside consultants, if any, who will be responsible for managing the grant funds and the purchase of safety equipment.
The bill also provides that the Commissioner of Health will establish procedures and criteria for reviewing and awarding EMS Provider Safety Grants, and will give preference to applicants based upon:
(1) the scope of provider need, as documented by the annual number of service calls handled by the EMS provider, the number of active EMS personnel, and service area population;
(2) the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the EMS provider, based on the burden of illness among the provider's personnel and the local community served by the provider; and
(3) the strength of the applicant's proposed plan of use for the grant funds.
One year after the bill's effective date, the commissioner will report to the Governor and the Legislature on the number of grants awarded and the number of safety items procured through the EMS Provider Safety Grant Program.
The bill, finally, appropriates $10 million from the federal "Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund" allocation, available to the State under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to the Department of Health to establish the EMS Provider Safety Grant Program.
