STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Peterson, Auth, Webber and Assemblywoman Dunn
SYNOPSIS
Requires reporting of certain attempted and completed suicides by minors.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning minors and suicide and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Attempted suicide" means destructive behavior intended by the actor to result in the actor's harm or death.
"Completed suicide" means a death that is known or reasonably suspected to have resulted from an intentional act of the deceased, regardless of whether it has been ruled a suicide by a medical examiner.
"Hospital" means an acute care hospital licensed by the Department of Health pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et al.).
"Minor" means an individual who has not attained the age of 18 years.
b. For the purpose of assembling data regarding suicide in minors, each hospital shall annually report to the New Jersey Poison Control Center of Rutgers, The State University, or to its successor agency, the number of attempted and completed suicides involving minors in which a minor uses a drug to attempt or complete suicide. A hospital shall also report, if available, additional information as may be required by the Department of Health, including but not limited to, the age, ethnicity, gender, and race of the minor as well as the drug used to attempt or complete suicide.
c. The New Jersey Poison Control Center shall submit to the Governor and to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), an annual report containing statistics based on data submitted to the center pursuant to this act.
2. Names and individual identification data collected pursuant to the provisions of this act shall not be disclosed unless required by law, and nothing in this act shall be construed to require disclosure of any private or confidential health information in violation of State or federal privacy laws.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires reporting of certain attempted and completed suicides by minors.
Under the bill, for the purpose of assembling data regarding suicide in minors, each hospital is to annually report to the New Jersey Poison Control Center of Rutgers, The State University, or to its successor agency, the number of attempted and completed suicides involving minors in which a minor uses a drug to attempt or complete suicide. A hospital is to also report, if available, additional information as may be required by the Department of Health, including but not limited to, the age, ethnicity, gender, and race of the minor as well as the drug used to attempt or complete suicide. The New Jersey Poison Control Center is to submit to the Governor and to the Legislature an annual report containing statistics based on data submitted to the center pursuant to the bill's provisions.
Under the bill, names and individual identification data collected pursuant to the bill's provisions are not to be disclosed unless required by law, and nothing in the bill is to be construed to require disclosure of any private or confidential health information in violation of State or federal privacy laws.