Bill Text: NJ A4024 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Appropriates $1 million to DEP for grants to county mosquito control agencies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-30 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee [A4024 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A4024-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Appropriates $1 million to DEP for grants to county mosquito control agencies.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning county mosquito control agencies and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. There is appropriated the sum of $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection for the purpose of providing grants to county mosquito control agencies for mosquito control programs. Funds shall be disbursed to county mosquito control agencies in such amounts as determined to be appropriate at the discretion and prioritization of the Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Department of Health and the State Mosquito Control Commission created pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1956, c.135 (C.26:9-12.3), to control mosquito populations that may pose a threat to human health.
The Department of Environmental Protection shall notify each county mosquito control agency of the availability of, and the qualifying criteria for, grants made available pursuant to this section. These criteria shall include actions taken by a county mosquito control agency to coordinate with local health agencies in the county in developing a mosquito control plan aimed at preventing the spread of the Zika virus and increasing public awareness of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would appropriate $1 million to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to provide grants to county mosquito control agencies for mosquito control programs. Funds would be dispersed at the discretion and prioritization of the DEP, in consultation with the Department of Health and the State Mosquito Control Commission, to control mosquito populations that may pose a threat to human health. The DEP would be required to notify each county mosquito control agency of the availability of, and the criteria for, grants made available pursuant to the bill.
The DEP works with mosquito control agencies in all 21 counties to monitor and control mosquito populations. Mosquitos can cause tremendous impacts on human health, as well as the health of dogs, horses, and other animals. Mosquitos and mosquito-borne diseases have been in the news frequently recently, especially due to health concerns related to the Zika virus. "Zika" is a virus that is easily and most commonly transmitted to humans by mosquito bite. The rate of Zika infection has been increasing worldwide, and although the symptoms of Zika infection are usually mild and often go unnoticed, health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have found that certain congenital malformations and neurological complications may occur in infants born to women infected by the Zika virus while pregnant. The funding provided in this bill will enhance mosquito control efforts at the county level to help prevent this potential threat to public health.
