ASSEMBLY, No. 4292

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED JUNE 22, 2020

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  SHAVONDA E. SUMTER

District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes New Jersey Racial Equity Rapid Response Team.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning racial and ethnic minorities and the coronavirus disease 2019.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    a.  As used in this section:

     "Health care professional" means a person licensed to practice a health care profession pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes. 

     b.    The Department of Health shall establish the New Jersey Racial Equity Rapid Response Team.  The purpose of the New Jersey Racial Equity Rapid Response Team shall be to:

     (1)   document the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on racial and ethnic minorities;

     (2)   develop strategies based on data to slow the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the coronavirus disease 2019 in racial and ethnic minorities;

     (3)   develop strategies to improve the overall health of racial and ethnic minorities; and

     (4)   identify three areas in the State with the most per capita deaths due to the coronavirus disease 2019 that consist of a municipality or a group of municipalities that are situated within close proximity to one another.

     c.     (1)  The Department of Health shall establish three advisory units to be assigned to each of the areas identified in paragraph (4) of subsection b. of this section.

     d.    Each advisory unit established pursuant to subsection c. of this section shall consist of eight members as follows:  the mayor of a municipality to which the respective advisory unit is assigned, or a designee, three residents of the municipality or municipalities to which the respective advisory unit is assigned, two of which shall be health care professionals, a municipal public health officer, a county emergency management or public health officer, a community advocate, and an educator. 

     e.     The purpose of each advisory unit established pursuant to subsection c. of this section shall be to:

     (1)   promote public awareness and education regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic;

     (2)   promote coronavirus disease 2019 prevention, testing, treatment, and other support services, as determined by the Department of Health; and

     (3)   develop strategies to mitigate the harm caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the area to which the respective advisory unit is assigned and improve the economic circumstance and health conditions of residents therein.

     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 establishes the New Jersey Racial Equity Rapid Response Team.

     Under the bill, the Department of Health (DOH) is to establish the New Jersey Racial Equity Rapid Response Team.  The purpose of the New Jersey Racial Equity Rapid Response Team is to:  (1) document the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on racial and ethnic minorities; (2) develop strategies based on data to slow the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the coronavirus disease 2019 in racial and ethnic minorities; (3) develop strategies to improve the overall health of racial and ethnic minorities; and (4) identify three areas in the State with the most per capita deaths due to the coronavirus disease 2019 that consist of a municipality or a group of municipalities.

     The bill provides that the DOH is to establish three advisory units to be assigned to each of the areas identified as having the most per capita deaths due to the coronavirus disease 2019.  Each advisory unit is to consist of eight members as follows:  the mayor of a municipality to which the respective advisory unit is assigned, or a designee, three residents of the municipality or municipalities to which the respective advisory unit is assigned, two of which shall be health care professionals, a municipal public health officer, a county emergency management or public health officer, a community advocate, and an educator. 

     Under the bill, the purpose of each advisory unit is to: (1) promote public awareness and education regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic; (2) promote coronavirus disease 2019 prevention, testing, treatment, and other support services, as determined by the DOH; and (3) develop strategies to mitigate the harm caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the area to which the respective advisory unit is assigned and improve the economic circumstance and health conditions of residents therein.

     It is the sponsor’s belief that the persistence of deep racial disparities and divisions across society is evidence of institutional racism––the routine, often invisible and unintentional, production of inequitable social opportunities and outcomes.  When racial equity is not consciously addressed, racial inequality is often unconsciously replicated.  A racial equity approach will advance the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 and any conditions or diseases resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019.  Ending the threat requires targeting strategies and resources towards those who are most impacted by this pandemic, those least able to shelter in place, and those facing the worst health inequities.  Instead of blaming and stigmatizing those who are most at risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019, the sponsor believes that their needs must be centered, and the disease should be attacked with the urgency the moment demands.  Structural racism has always been a pre-existing condition.  All of society benefits from ending the threat of the virus by attacking structural racism.