A857

ASSEMBLY, No. 857

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen COTTRELL and MALONE

An Act concerning the control of Lyme disease, and amending and supplementing P.L.1991, c.277.

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

1. Section 1 of P.L.1991, c.277 (C.26:2P-1) is amended to read as follows:

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection which is spread by certain arthropods , primarily ticks, and is one of the fastest growing public health problems in New Jersey;

b. [There is evidence that the disease may be transmitted through blood products, shared needles, raw milk and blood-sucking insects] Studies of Lyme disease treatment have shown that costs associated with long-term treatment of infected persons have often exceeded $100,000 per case and have a significant negative social impact ;

c. Lyme disease, which is the most common tick-borne disease in this country, is present in 48 states and five continents and is spreading, with New Jersey being one of the states in which the disease is most prevalent. New Jersey experienced the largest percentage increase in reported cases of Lyme disease of any state between 1992 and 1993 ;

d. Lyme disease was not widely recognized in the United States until 1975 and was first identified in New Jersey in Monmouth county in 1978;

e. [Because Lyme disease is still relatively unknown] Even though Lyme disease is receiving increased public attention among both the medical community and the general public, it is often misdiagnosed or not diagnosed, which results in more serious health problems for the affected person; [and]

f. If untreated, Lyme disease, in its later stages, can result in neurological disorders, including, but not limited to, chronic and severe fatigue, encephalitis, meningitis, memory loss, dementia and seizures; severe arthritis; cardiac dysfunction; vision loss, gastrointestinal disorders, paralysis, strokes and death ; and

g. County mosquito control agencies throughout the State are currently staffed and equipped to control nuisance and vector species of mosquitoes. These commissions or agencies provide a central operational unit within each county with the capability to advise and assist a State Lyme Disease Vector Control Board in the development and implementation of an integrated approach to the control of tick populations on public lands within each county .

(cf: P.L.1991, c.277, s.1)

2. (New section) a. There is established in the Department of Health a Lyme Disease Vector Control Board consisting of seven members, four of whom shall be public members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, and three of whom shall be the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio.

b. Of the four public members to be appointed by the Governor, one shall be a physician or a veterinarian, one shall be a representative of a county mosquito or Lyme disease vector control agency, one shall be a representative of the New Jersey Pest Control Association and one shall be chosen from the public members of the Governor's Lyme Disease Advisory Council.

c. Public members of the board shall serve four year terms, except that of the first public members appointed one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one shall be appointed for a term of two years, one shall be appointed for a term of three years and one shall be appointed for a term of four years. Members whose terms have expired shall continue to serve until their successors have been appointed and qualified. One of the public members first appointed shall be the current chairperson of the Governor's Lyme Disease Advisory Council. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term.

d. The board shall organize at the call of the Commissioner of Health within thirty days following the appointment of the four public members, and shall select a chairperson from among the appointed public members and a secretary, who need not be a member. Members shall serve without compensation.

e. The board may call to its assistance and avail itself of the service of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission or agency as it may require for the purposes of this act. The board shall have appropriate offices and staffing within the Department of Health and that department shall supply the professional and clerical assistance necessary for the board to perform its duties. The board may incur miscellaneous expenses to perform its duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for those purposes.

3. (New section) The duties of the board shall include but not be limited to:

a. Conducting a continuous study of ticks that transmit Lyme disease, which shall include:

(1) Review of available epidemiological information;

(2) Surveillance of known tick habitats;

(3) Preparation of maps indicating case distribution and significant breeding activity; and

(4) Development of a system for prioritizing the geographical areas of the State requiring the implementation of tick control measures;

b. Developing tick control measures in the State, including but not limited to:

(1) Physical control measures;

(2) Biological control measures; and

(3) Chemical control measures;

c. Conducting an ongoing work program within the Department of Health to develop and promote the following activities:

(1) Prevention of, detection of, monitoring the occurrence of, and diagnosis of, Lyme disease;

(2) Control of the vectors of the disease in the State;

(3) Establishment of a mechanism that will allow municipalities, public health agencies and State and county vector control agencies throughout New Jersey to share information about Lyme disease;

(4) Determining the amount of State funding necessary to implement research activities required to develop a Statewide protocol for control of ticks that transmit Lyme disease;

(5) Prioritization of areas of the State where State funding should be utilized;

(6) Determining the amount of money required to be made available in the form of State aid to counties for implementation of control activities;

(7) Development of an education program for local health agencies, vector control agencies and the public at large; and

(8) Recommendations to the Legislature concerning the amount of money that the board deems necessary to be appropriated each year by the State for research, monitoring and control of the vectors of Lyme disease and the allocation of funds to be appropriated for State aid to counties in the performance of such work among the various county Boards of Chosen Freeholders; and

d. Submitting an annual report to the Governor and Legislature on the progress made toward the prevention of, detection of, monitoring the occurrence of, and diagnosis of, the disease and toward the control of the vectors of the disease, and on the financial impact of the disease on the residents of the State of New Jersey.

4. (New section) a. The Board of Chosen Freeholders of a county may designate any county mosquito control agency or other agency or any combination thereof to undertake Lyme disease control activities in conjunction with the Lyme Disease Vector Control Board established pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill).

b. An agency or agencies selected by a county pursuant to subsection a. of this section may establish a separate budget for the performance of Lyme disease control activities.

5. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would establish a Lyme Disease Vector Control Board in the Department of Health. The board would consist of seven members, four of whom would be public members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, and three of whom would be the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio.

The duties of the board would include:

a. Conducting a continuous study of ticks that transmit Lyme disease;

b. Developing tick control measures in the State;

c. Conducting an ongoing work program within the Department of Health to develop and promote various activities; and

The bill would also authorize county boards of chosen freeholders to designate mosquito control agencies or other agencies to conduct Lyme disease control activities.

Establishes Lyme Disease Vector Control Board.