This bill requires New Jersey's Department of Human Services, in collaboration with the Department of Health, to create a public awareness campaign about period poverty. The campaign must provide clear information on the definition, causes, and scale of period poverty (a lack of access to menstrual products, education, and sanitation) in New Jersey and the U.S., along with practical solutions. It mandates developing multilingual educational materials (including English and Spanish) and distributing them through state websites, health clinics, libraries, and community organizations. The departments must also report annually on campaign activities and results to the Governor and Legislature starting 24 months after the bill takes effect.
The Manufacturing in Higher Education Act (A1828) creates a $10 million annual grant program to fund manufacturing education at New Jersey colleges and vocational schools. It requires state agencies to promote manufacturing career pathways for students and establishes a new Advanced Manufacturing Council to coordinate industry partnerships and workforce development. The grants will support new programs or expand existing ones in manufacturing fields, with 50% allocated to county colleges, 25% to four-year institutions, and 25% to vocational districts. Additionally, the bill designates a state liaison to assist manufacturing businesses with marketing, referrals, and workforce reskilling initiatives.
Bill A3077 allows EMTs certified in other states to obtain New Jersey certification if their state's standards are equivalent or better and they pass a background check. It requires all EMT applicants and renewing EMTs to undergo a criminal history background check, with follow-up checks every three years for recertification. The bill disqualifies applicants with certain criminal convictions, including violent crimes and Megan's Law sex offenses (which automatically disqualify), and may require applicants to pay for the background check.
S 1590 establishes a three-year pilot program in New Jersey's Department of Education to help 12th graders in pandemic-impacted school districts access free college coursework during their senior year. The program targets districts with high economic disadvantage, low college enrollment rates, and significant learning loss from COVID-19. Participating students must take 6-15 postsecondary credits per semester (with a 2.0 GPA minimum), while partnering colleges provide free courses, waive fees, and charge districts no more than $100 per credit. Districts must collect demographic data on student progress, and the program will conclude with a state report evaluating its potential for statewide expansion.
This bill changes New Jersey's inheritance rules for spouses in pending divorce cases. If a divorce or civil union dissolution complaint is filed (but not dismissed) before one spouse dies, the surviving spouse loses their right to inherit the deceased's estate under intestate succession or elective share laws. The bill specifically excludes such surviving spouses from receiving any share of the estate that would otherwise go to a surviving spouse, even if no children are involved. This directly affects individuals whose divorce proceedings were ongoing at the time of their partner's death. The change takes effect when the bill is enacted, modifying existing intestate succession statutes.
This bill requires New Jersey's Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council to prepare a report on suicide prevention instruction in public schools. The council must review current programs, identify risk identification methods, evaluate best practices (including comparing to nearby states), and recommend improvements to mental health access in schools. To gather data, the council will develop a survey for schools (administered by the Department of Education in the 2023-24 school year), ensuring student privacy is protected before sharing results. The report must be submitted to the Governor and Legislature within 12 months of the bill's effective date.
S 2242 establishes the CreateNJ Center at Thomas Edison State University to help nontraditional students and workers convert learning experiences into recognized academic credits, career credentials, and apprenticeship training. The center will create a "CreateNJ Workforce Transcript" that validates skills and knowledge, serving as New Jersey’s central resource for translating education and work experience into formal credentials. It will maintain a voluntary database of credentialed skills from participating colleges and operate through a 12-member steering committee including state education officials, business leaders, and college representatives. The center may charge fees to fund its operations and accept grants, but participation in the database remains voluntary for individuals and institutions.
This bill requires New Jersey state agencies to remove handwritten signatures from documents before publishing them on agency websites, as mandated by the Administrative Procedure Act. It applies to all documents published online, including those already archived, which must be redacted before republishing. Agencies must retain the redacted documents for public access under the Open Public Records Act. The law does not affect typed signatures or alter existing public access rights. It takes effect 180 days after enactment.
This bill directs New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to establish testing standards for microplastics in drinking water. Within three years, the DEP must adopt a standard testing method, require public water systems to test and publicly report microplastic levels for four years, and accredit labs to analyze samples. It also requires the Drinking Water Quality Institute to study microplastics and recommend a definition within two years. The bill affects all public water systems serving New Jersey residents. Note: The bill was introduced in January 2024 but was withdrawn the same day (withdrawn per P.L.2023, c.318).
The "Ensuring Transparency in Prior Authorization Act" requires New Jersey health insurance companies and health plans to publicly disclose their prior authorization requirements, clinical criteria, and approval/denial statistics on their websites in plain language. It mandates that physicians - not administrative staff - make decisions on denied services (adverse determinations) and sets strict time limits for decisions (one business day for routine services, 24 hours for urgent care). The law prohibits prior authorization for emergency services, medications for opioid use disorder, and certain generic medications, while preventing insurers from revoking authorizations within 45 business days of care being provided. This bill directly affects insurers, healthcare providers, and patients by making the prior authorization process more transparent and patient-focused.
This bill amends the lists of environmental infrastructure projects approved for funding under New Jersey's FY 2024 environmental infrastructure program. It modifies the eligibility list to include new projects, remove some, adjust project priorities, and change loan amounts, increasing the total funding authorization to up to $3.08 billion for 137 clean water projects and 70 drinking water projects. The bill explicitly authorizes using the Pinelands Infrastructure Trust Fund for drinking water projects, requiring them to follow wastewater project financing regulations until specific drinking water regulations are established. This affects municipalities, water authorities, and other project sponsors receiving environmental infrastructure funding through the Department of Environmental Protection.
S 1041 requires New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Drinking Water Quality Institute to study how to regulate perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. The study must assess whether setting a single standard for all PFAS or specific groups (instead of individual chemicals) is feasible, and evaluate treatment technologies to remove PFAS from water. The DEP must submit a report to the Legislature within 24 months of the bill's enactment, detailing findings on standards and treatment options. This bill directly affects the DEP's regulatory process and aims to inform future drinking water standards for PFAS, a group of persistent chemicals used in many consumer products.
