Sponsored by:
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Provides that 20% of fee charged for initial certified copy of birth certificate shall be used to support certain activities of NJ Cord Blood Bank.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning birth certificates and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall require that 20% of the fee charged by the Department of Health and Senior Services or local registrar, as applicable, for issuing the initial certified copy of the original birth record of a newborn in this State shall be forwarded on a quarterly basis to the Department of the Treasury for deposit in the "New Jersey Public Cord Blood Bank Fund" established pursuant to section 2 of this act.
2. a. There is established in the Department of the Treasury a nonlapsing revolving fund to be known as the "New Jersey Public Cord Blood Bank Fund." This fund shall be the repository for moneys collected pursuant to section 1 of this act. The moneys from the fund shall be used for the purpose of supporting the activities of the State-designated public cord blood bank in collecting and storing umbilical cord blood for public use.
b. The State Treasurer is the custodian of the fund and all disbursements from the fund shall be made by the State Treasurer upon vouchers signed by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, or the commissioner's designee. The moneys in the fund shall be invested and reinvested by the Director of the Division of Investment in the Department of the Treasury as are other trust funds in the custody of the State Treasurer in the manner provided by law. Interest received on the moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
3. Pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment and shall apply to initial certified copies of original birth records issued on or after that date, but the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall require that 20% of the fee charged by the Department of Health and Senior Services or local registrar, as applicable, for issuing the initial certified copy of the original birth record of a newborn shall be forwarded on a quarterly basis to the Department of the Treasury for deposit in the "New Jersey Public Cord Blood Bank Fund" established pursuant to this bill. The moneys in the fund would be used for the purpose of supporting the State-designated public cord blood bank in collecting and storing umbilical cord blood for public use.
The New Jersey Cord Blood Bank (NJCBB) at Community Blood Services is the State-designated public cord blood bank. NJCBB allows for donation of a newborn's umbilical cord blood so that the newborn's stem cells can be used by a child or adult suffering from cancer or other life-threatening diseases. There is no charge to donate to this nonprofit public bank.