The law extends through 2015 the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the two-decade-old effort that provides health insurance to all children who need it.
Under the law, $8 million from the 2013-14 budget will fund the addition of roughly 9,000 children to the program and pay for an advertising campaign to reach an estimated 145,000 uninsured children statewide.
More than 188,000 children are enrolled in the program, but the number has dropped by 7,700 over the last several years, according to the Insurance Department.
The agency blames a lack of advertising for the decline.
