Section 5A1/2. (a) There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate trust fund to be known as the Emergency Stockpile Trust Fund to effectively facilitate emergency management and pandemic preparedness in accordance with section 5A. The fund shall consist of monies collected under this section and any income derived from the investing of amounts credited to the fund. The department shall accept monies from municipalities, counties, healthcare facilities and other entities to participate in federal contracts under 42 U.S.C. section 247d–6b and made available to states under 42 USC section 247d–3a. The commissioner shall be the trustee of the fund.

(b) Participating municipalities, counties, and healthcare facilities shall cooperate with the department to ensure that the lowest cost prices are obtained for necessary medicines and associated supplies. The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall decide whether medicine and associated supplies are acceptable for the purposes of this section. The department shall designate an employee within the department to administer the development and execution of the fund.

(c) The department shall oversee the distribution of the funds and shall ensure that the distribution complies with the commonwealth's emergency management plan. All monies deposited in the fund shall be expended on behalf of the contributing municipalities, counties or healthcare facilities for the purchase of health care products and supplies needed for the purposes set forth in the commonwealth's comprehensive emergency management plan and made available under contracts accessible to the commonwealth under 42 USC section 247d–3a and to support any reasonable and necessary administrative costs incurred by the department in managing the purchase of such products and supplies or otherwise overseeing the distribution of monies deposited into the fund. All monies deposited into the fund shall be expended exclusively for the purposes set forth in this section.