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 with greater flexibility. The bill aims to reinstate a funding mechanism that was eliminated in the FY 2011 Appropriations Act, which previously provided unrestricted funds to local health departments under the Public Health Priority Funding Act of 1977.

The proposed legislation supplements the existing Public Health Priority Funding Act and emphasizes the importance of dedicated funding for local health departments, which have been primarily reliant on local property taxes and specific State and federal funding for designated purposes. The reinstatement of this funding is crucial, as it previously constituted about 15 percent of the total funding for local health departments in FY 2010, thereby enhancing their capacity to respond to public health challenges effectively.