This bill mandates a minimum annual appropriation of $10 million from the State's General Fund to the Department of Health for Public Health Priority Funding, effective July 1 following the bill's enactment. This funding is intended to support local health departments in New Jersey, allowing them to address local health needs and emerging threats. The bill aims to reinstate the only State appropriated, unrestricted fund for local health departments, which was eliminated in the FY 2011 Appropriations Act. The funding will be utilized in accordance with the provisions of the Public Health Priority Funding Act of 1977.

The legislation seeks to supplement the Public Health Priority Funding Act of 1977, which previously provided local health departments with the flexibility to allocate funds according to their specific needs. Prior to the elimination of this funding, it constituted about 15 percent of the total funding for local health departments in FY 2010. Currently, these departments rely on local property taxes and designated State and federal funding for specific purposes, such as vaccines and environmental health services. The bill aims to restore a critical source of funding that supports the overall public health infrastructure in New Jersey.