SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 1354
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MAY 8, 1997
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1354 (1R) of 1997.
Senate Bill No. 1354 (1R) establishes the "Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Education Program" in the Department of Health and Senior Services. Under the bill, the department would:
1. Review, coordinate, and expand successful osteoporosis-related programs provided by public, private and State-run entities;
2. Provide to patients, health care professionals and physicians, educational materials, research results and information on services and treatment options available to individuals afflicted with the disease;
3. Evaluate community-based services for sufferers of osteoporosis and make recommendations on ways to improve the quality and accessibility of those services;
4. Establish an osteoporosis services information clearinghouse;
5. Promote the establishment of support groups for osteoporosis sufferers, their families and care givers;
6. Evaluate the State's funding mechanisms available for osteoporosis-related services; and
7. Create a public awareness and outreach program highlighting the value of prevention and early detection of osteoporosis.
The bill also requires the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services to establish a 15-member Interagency Council on Osteoporosis. The members of the council will include: the Commissioners of Education, Health and Senior Services and Human Services, the Assistant Commissioner of Senior Affairs in the Department of Health and Senior Services and the Director of the Division on Women in the Department of Community Affairs, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio; four members of the Legislature, two of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Senate and two of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; and six public members appointed by the Governor who shall include a representative of a women's health-care organization, a public health educator, an expert in the field of osteoporosis, a health care provider who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and two individuals who have osteoporosis.
Among the council's responsibilities would be to help the department in developing osteoporosis-related programs including the program established in the bill, and to hold public hearings and conduct studies on issues relating to osteoporosis. The council would also prepare a report of its findings and recommendations for legislative and programmatic changes and present the report to the Governor and the Legislature no later than 18 months following its establishment.
Finally, the bill appropriates $300,000 to the Department of Health and Senior Services from the General Fund for the purposes of the bill.
As reported, this bill is identical to Assembly Bill No. 2342 of 1996 (Cottrell/Malone).
FISCAL IMPACT:
This bill appropriates $300,000 to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) from the General Fund for the implementation of its provisions.
The OLS notes that the DHSS received $270,000 in the FY 1997 appropriations act for an "Interagency Council on Osteoporosis." To date, this council has not been formed, but the department has formulated a plan for the expenditure of these funds to facilitate, develop and implement Statewide osteoporosis education and awareness activities. The Joint Budget Oversight Committee approved in March a transfer of $145,000 of the $270,000 from the "Grants-In-Aid" account to a new "Direct State Services" account in order to implement the plan; the remaining $125,000 would be used for osteoporosis related grants. The Governor's Budget Recommendations for Fiscal Year 1998 do not contain additional funds for an Interagency Council on Osteoporosis; however, the budget does include language to reappropriate any balances unexpended in the grant account in Fiscal Year 1997.