The Assembly Regulated Professions Committee voted to release Assembly Bill 5,592, a measure that would require source plasma donation centers to hold an annual license from the New Jersey Department of Health and places authority with the commissioner to set initial and renewal fees and adopt rules.

Under the bill as described at the committee posting, existing operators that were in business before the bill’s effective date would face a special initial fee set at $25, and license and renewal fee revenue would be appropriated to the Department of Health. The measure would also give the department power to promulgate rules, and to suspend, revoke or refuse a license for cause.

Daniel Seaton, director of U.S. Public Affairs at the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association, told the committee the measure would align state licensing with federal requirements and argued that New Jersey’s current classification of source plasma centers as blood banks imposes inapplicable transfusion‑medicine requirements. “Currently, New Jersey licenses source plasma donation centers as blood banks,” Seaton said. He said plasma‑derived therapies treat rare chronic conditions and that collecting source plasma is a distinct process from blood transfusion.

Seaton said there are 18 source plasma collection centers in New Jersey and argued that a new, tailored licensing category could make it easier to open additional centers. He also cited economic figures presented in testimony, saying an average center employs more than 50 people and provides more than $4 million in local economic impact annually through wages and related spending.

Committee members asked about differences between federal and state regulations and whether other states have changed their laws; Seaton cited New York’s 2022 legislation and noted Pennsylvania relies solely on FDA standards. After testimony and brief questions, the committee voted to release the bill.

Action: the committee recorded unanimous “yes” votes from members present and the clerk announced the bill was released. The committee did not adopt amendments at posting; the Department of Health and stakeholders may draft implementing regulations if the bill becomes law.

The committee posting included details on licensure fee structure, enforcement authority and the bill’s goal of aligning state rules with federal law to protect donors and facilitate production of plasma‑derived therapies.