N.J. Stat. tit. 26, ch. 2F

in effect

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-1 Short title

This act shall be known as the Public Health Priority Funding Act of 1977. L.1966, c. 36, s. 1. Amended by L.1977, c. 332, s. 1, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-2.1 Legislative findings and declaration

2. The Legislature finds and declares that there exists in New Jersey a serious and increasing incidence of various communicable and chronic diseases, such as cancer, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, sexually transmitted infection, and substance use disorder, which requires a continuing commitment of public health personnel and resources; and that there has been in recent years diminished financial support for agencies engaged in providing primary prevention programs. The Legislature also recognizes that there exists a framework for the provision of such services at the municipal, regional and county levels but that changing socio-economic, environmental and technological conditions warrant a redirection of the ways of addressing these health problems. The Legislature finds that there should be provided funds to support certain public health priority activities. L.1977, c. 332, s. 2, eff. Jan. 23, 1978; amended 2023, c.177, s.82.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-3 Definitions

For the purposes of this act unless the context clearly requires a different meaning: (a) "Local health agency" means any county, regional, municipal or other governmental agency organized for the purpose of providing health services, administered by a full-time health officer and conducting a public health program pursuant to law. (b) "Commissioner" shall mean the State Commissioner of Health or his designee. (c) "Special projects and development fund" shall mean the fund established in section 7 of this act. (d) "Priority health services" means those core activities pertaining to communicable disease and chronic illness as contained in the "standards of performance" or supplemented from the list of recognized activities as contained in the "standards of performance," and designated annually by the commissioner with the approval of the Public Health Council. For the purposes of this subsection, "standards of performance" means the "Recognized Public Health Activities and Minimum Standards of Performance for Local Boards of Health in New Jersey" as prescribed by the Public Health Council of the State Department of Health under authority of P.L.1947, c. 177 (C. 26:1A-1 et seq.). (e) "Public health priority fund" shall mean State funds for priority health services to be rendered by local health agencies but shall not include grants from the special projects and development fund. (f) "Annual expenditures for health purposes" shall mean the local effort as represented by the expenditures by a local health agency for health services which comply with the "standards of performance" excluding any sum paid to the local health agency as public health priority funds under the provisions of this act. (g) (1) "Noninstitutional population" shall mean the number of inhabitants of a municipality or a group of municipalities making up a local health agency jurisdiction as enumerated in the last Federal census, or by a special census made by the Federal Bureau of the Census, or as estimated annually by the Department of Labor and Industry, whichever is the most recent, except that military personnel living on military reservations, inmates of Federal, State, and county institutions, and boarding students of colleges and universities shall be excluded. (2) "Special needs population" shall mean the sum of the number of persons having income less than the poverty level and the number of persons over the age of 65, as listed in the most recent Federal census. (h) "Full-time health officer" means a holder of a license as a health officer issued by the State Department of Health and who is employed by a local health agency to function during all the working hours of the regularly scheduled work week of the governmental unit to which the local health agency is attached and not regularly employed during the working hours of that scheduled work week in other activities for which he receives remuneration. (i) Deleted by amendment. (j) Deleted by amendment. (k) "Criteria for participation" shall mean that a local health agency serving a minimum population of 25,000 is under the administrative direction of a full-time health officer, and all other employees are appropriately qualified and licensed as required by law. The minimum population of 25,000 may be waived at the discretion of the commissioner in the case of a local health agency which from the period beginning January 1, 1960, has carried on and continues to carry on a comprehensive public health program under the direction of a full-time health officer. L.1966, c. 36, s. 3. Amended by L.1977, c. 332, s. 3, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-6.1 Public health priority funds for each municipality; determination; formula

Public health priority funds for each municipality within the local health agency shall be determined by the following formula: PHPF=(p/c factor x nip x (2-rfs)) + (p/c factor x snp) PHPF =Public health priority fund p/c factor=Per capita amount deemed necessary to provide priority health services NIP =Noninstitutional population SNP =Special needs population RFS =The relative fair share factor of a municipality, and is the ratio that the equalized valuation of a municipality divided by its noninstitutional population bears to the total equalized valuation of all municipalities divided by the noninstitutional population of the State. The equalized valuation for each municipality is the equalized valuation promulgated by the Director of the Division of Taxation pursuant to P.L.1954, c. 86 (C. 54:1-35.1) plus the amount determined by dividing the sum of the amounts received by the municipality for personal property tax replacement pursuant to P.L.1966, c. 135 (C. 54:11D-1 et seq.) and from public utility franchise and gross receipt taxes pursuant to P.L.1940, c. 4 (C. 54:30A-16 et seq.) by the equalized tax rate of the municipality. The equalized tax rate of a municipality is determined by dividing the amount on which the local tax rate is computed, as indicated in the table of aggregates prepared pursuant to R.S. 54:4-52, by the equalized valuation promulgated by the Director of the Division of Taxation. For any municipality whose ratio is one-half or less, its factor shall be zero. For any municipality whose ratio is greater than two, its factor is two. L.1977, c. 332, s. 4, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-6.2 Use of public health priority funds

Public health priority funds shall be used only for the support of priority health services provided by the local health agency, and shall not be provided for use in substitution for the mean annual expenditures for health purposes of the agency during the 2 years immediately preceding the year for which public health priority funds are requested. L.1977, c. 332, s. 5, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-7 Special projects and development fund, established; grants.

7. (a) There is hereby established a special projects and development fund which shall consist of all funds appropriated or otherwise made available for the purposes set forth in this section. The commissioner, with the approval of the Public Health Council, may make grants from the special projects and development fund to local health agencies, to hospitals, and to voluntary health agencies to provide State health assistance for new health services and for special health projects in order to stimulate continued development of health services and to assure the citizens of New Jersey the benefits of the most advanced health protection techniques. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, grants from the special projects and development fund for specific purposes shall be made on an annual basis for a period not in excess of 5 years and such grants shall be in diminishing amounts during this period. The commissioner shall determine the conditions applicable to each such grant including the extent of local financial participation to be required. Grants from the special projects and development fund to voluntary health agencies shall not exceed 40% of said fund. (c) (1) Grants from the special projects and development fund shall be made on an annual basis to local health agencies for local enforcement efforts concerning the sale and commercial distribution of tobacco products to persons under the age of 21 years, in an amount determined by the commissioner. The grants shall be distributed based on the number of cigarette retail dealer and vending machine licenses issued within a local health agency's jurisdictional authority in order to ensure Statewide coverage and Statewide consistency of enforcement efforts; except that the commissioner may designate up to 5% of available funds, annually, for incentive grants to local health agencies to enhance enforcement efforts. Each grant recipient shall report quarterly to the commissioner on the number of compliance check inspections it has completed and the results of those compliance checks. The commissioner shall determine any other conditions applicable to the grants. (2) Beginning in 1999, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection to the contrary, the commissioner may make grants from the special projects and development fund to public and private local agencies to reduce teenage use of addictive substances. L.1966, c.36, s.7; amended 1995, c.320, s.1; 2005, c.384, s.2; 2017, c.118, s.4.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-8 Qualification for grant by local health agency

A local health agency may qualify for a grant under one or more of the sections of this act. L.1966, c. 36, s. 8. Amended by L.1977, c. 332, s. 6, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-9 Public health priority funding; notification; application

Pending final passage of the applicable General Appropriations Act, the commissioner shall notify each eligible local health agency as to the priority health services and the amount of public health priority funds estimated to be payable during the next calendar year to provide these services. On or before a date set by the commissioner, the health officer of each local health agency, or in his absence another person designated by the official body under which the local health agency operates, may submit an application for public health priority funds for the following calendar year. The application shall include the budget of the agency, the plan of work and such other information as the commissioner may require, to be presented in a form prescribed by the commissioner. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to describe in detail in the application how all the public health priority services will be met by the local health agency. The application shall be certified, under the penalties of perjury, as true to the best knowledge of the person making it. L.1966, c.36, s.9; amended 1977, c.332, s.7; 1989,c.64,s.1.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-11 Payments

The sum payable as public health priority funds to each local health agency shall be payable one-half on July 1, and one-half on January 1. Payments shall be made by the State Treasurer upon certificate of the commissioner and warrant of the Director of the Division of Budgeting and Accounting. L.1966, c. 36, s. 11. Amended by L.1977, c. 332, s. 8, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-12 Audit by commissioner; examination of agency records; unexpended funds and audit exceptions; return; disposition

In order to insure that the public health priority funds are expended in conformance with the provisions of this act, the commissioner shall, when he deems it in order, have an audit made of the expenditures of moneys and of services provided by the local health agency receiving public health priority funds and shall, when he shall deem it necessary, have examined all books, papers and vouchers of the agency and its fiscal agent shall have free and unrestricted access thereto for that purpose. Following fiscal audits, all unexpended public health priority funds and audit exceptions as determined by the commissioner shall be returned to the State Department of Health within 3 months of notification. Such funds shall be expended for priority health services in accordance with the standards of performance and made available as special grants to local health agencies upon application and amounts approved by the commissioner with concurrence of the Public Health Council. L.1966, c. 36, s. 12. Amended by L.1977, c. 332, s. 9, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-13 Failure to provide or meet standards for priority health services; reduction or discontinuance of aid; late application or report; penalty

When it has been determined that a local health agency fails to provide priority health services in accordance with standards of performance called for in its plan of work as stated in its application for public health priority funds or ceases to comply with the criteria for participation, public health priority funds may be reduced or discontinued by the commissioner when, in his judgment, such action serves to further the general purposes of this act. When it has been determined that a local health agency fails to meet the dates established pursuant to sections 9 and 14 of P.L.1966, c. 36 (C. 26:2F-9 and C. 26:2F-14) for submission of the application for public health priority funds or required reports, public health priority funds will be reduced by one day's allocation of the total amount, for each day that the application or report is late. This penalty may be waived, or modified, at the discretion of the commissioner for good cause shown. The penalty may be imposed by decreasing the local health agency allocation of public health funds for the following year. L.1966, c. 36, s. 13. Amended by L.1977, c. 332, s. 10, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-13.1 Unallocated public health priority funds; carry forward; special grants

Unallocated public health priority funds for the fiscal year may be carried forward and made available in the following fiscal year as special grants to local health agencies upon application by such agencies. The amounts of special grants shall be approved by the commissioner with the concurrence of the Public Health Council. Such special grants shall be made available to local health agencies only for extraordinary purposes. L.1977, c. 332, s. 11, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-13.2 Administrative rules

The commissioner shall have all the powers necessary to make, establish and amend, after consultation with the Public Health Council, such administrative rules as may be necessary, desirable or proper to carry out his powers and duties under this act. L.1977, c. 332, s. 12, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-14 Annual report

Each local health agency receiving public health priority funds shall on or before October 15 in each year, following the year for which the public health priority funds were received, prepare and file with the commissioner an annual report for the preceding State fiscal year. Such report shall state the condition of the public health within the limits of its jurisdiction, noting therein any special cause for the deterioration of health or of hazard thereto, and shall contain answers to any questions which may have been addressed to the local health agency by the commissioner. L.1966, c. 36, s. 14. Amended by L.1977, c. 332, s. 13, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

N.J. Stat. § 26:2F-15 Per capita factor

The per capita factor for the purposes of this act shall be specified for each year in the General Appropriations Act or in a supplement thereto. L.1966, c. 36, s. 15. Amended by L.1977, c. 332, s. 14, eff. Jan. 23, 1978.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-activity/statutesFetched: 10/17/2026