Bill Text: NJ A4019 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizes certain forms of testing for coronavirus disease 2019.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-04 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health Committee [A4019 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A4019-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman HOLLY T. SCHEPISI
District 39 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes certain forms of testing for coronavirus disease 2019.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning coronavirus disease 2019 testing.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any law, regulation, or rule to the contrary, individuals in this State shall be authorized to undergo testing for the coronavirus disease 2019 or for antibodies from the coronavirus disease 2019, without prior authorization from a health care professional, as may be approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, including, self-collection of testing specimens, the use of mail-order laboratory testing services, the use of home testing kits, and the use of laboratories that have federal approval but are not otherwise licensed in New Jersey. The results of any testing conducted in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be sent to the tested individual, to the health care professional who authorized the test or antibody titer if the test was authorized by a health care professional, the Department of Health, the county department of health in the county in which the tested individual resides, and the municipality in which the tested individual resides.
b. Consistent with federal and State privacy laws, any information sent to the Department of Health, a county department of health, or a municipality pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall not contain any information identifying a tested individual unless the tested individual expressly authorizes the release of such information.
c. As used in this section:
"Antibody titer" means a test to measure the presence and amount of antibodies in a blood sample against a particular type of tissue, cell, or substance.
"Health care professional" means a person licensed to practice a health care profession pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire upon the end of both the state of emergency and the public health emergency declared in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
STATEMENT
This bill authorizes individuals in this State to undergo testing for the coronavirus disease 2019 or for antibodies from the coronavirus disease 2019, without prior authorization from a health care professional, as may be approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, including, self-collection of testing specimens, the use of mail-order laboratory testing services, the use of home testing kits, and the use of laboratories that have federal approval but are not otherwise licensed in New Jersey. The results of any testing conducted in accordance with the provisions of this bill are to be sent to the tested individual, to the health care professional who authorized the test or antibody titer if the test was authorized by a health care professional, the Department of Health, the county department of health in the county in which the tested individual resides, and the municipality in which the tested individual resides. Consistent with federal and State privacy laws, any information sent to the Department of Health, a county department of health, or a municipality is not to contain any information identifying a tested individual unless the tested individual expressly authorizes the release of such information.
