Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits New Jersey licensing boards from asking healthcare professionals about their past behavioral health care during license applications or renewals, except when assessing current conditions that impair safe practice. It requires boards to limit questions to whether an applicant currently has a condition affecting their ability to work safely, and guarantees that seeking treatment for non-impaired conditions won’t lead to license denial or mandatory treatment requirements. All disclosures about behavioral health care remain confidential, and boards must provide training on handling such information without stigma. The law directly affects licensed health care professionals (including doctors, nurses, dentists, and therapists) applying for or renewing state licenses.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis bill standardizes retirement benefits for New Jersey public employees by removing tiered membership in the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS). It transfers all current non-retired PERS members to "Tier 1" (the benefits tier for those enrolled before July 2007), ensuring they receive identical retirement and health benefits as pre-2007 members. It also automatically transfers service credit from the Defined Contribution Retirement Program (DCRP) to PERS for DCRP participants, though their contributions remain in DCRP, and gives them 6 months to opt out. Additionally, it requires public employers to enroll eligible employees (earning above minimum salary but not meeting hour requirements) into PERS within 60 days. Changes apply only to retirement applications processed after the bill’s effective date.
Maddy summarySCR 27 proposes a constitutional amendment to guarantee all New Jersey residents a fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment, including clean air, pure water, safe climate, and healthy habitats. It designates the State as the trustee of all natural resources (waters, air, lands, wildlife, and climate) for both current and future generations, requiring the state to conserve and maintain these resources for public benefit. The amendment would be self-executing, meaning courts could enforce it directly without new laws, and it explicitly states these rights are in addition to existing environmental protections. This change would apply to all New Jersey residents and require the state government to uphold these environmental rights through its actions and policies.
Maddy summaryThis bill, S 2575, allows local and state government officials who are on active military duty or fulfilling reserve obligations to participate remotely in official meetings. It directly affects municipal council members, county commissioners, school board members, and state board members serving in the military. Key provisions include counting remote participants toward quorum and requiring state departments to develop guidelines for remote participation. The bill applies to all government bodies covered in the legislation and takes effect immediately.
Maddy summaryS 3012 creates two new state entities: the Health Care Cost Containment and Price Transparency Commission and the Office of Health Care Affordability and Transparency within New Jersey’s Department of Health. The bill requires hospitals and other health care entities (including insurers and providers) to publicly report detailed pricing data for services like inpatient care, emergency visits, and physician services using standard medical codes. It establishes price growth benchmarks to monitor cost trends, mandates public reporting of pricing data, and empowers the Commission to address entities exceeding these benchmarks through transparency measures and potential penalties. The law directly affects all New Jersey hospitals and health care payers by requiring data transparency and cost monitoring to improve affordability.
Maddy summaryThis bill changes rules for online motor vehicle sales in New Jersey. It requires licensed online sellers to maintain a physical location in New Jersey (meeting standard dealership requirements), store electronic sales records in an inspectable format (removing the prior "immediate" access requirement), and limits inspections to one business day of written notice before entry. The bill directly affects licensed online vehicle sellers, dealers, and leasing businesses. These changes aim to balance regulatory oversight with operational flexibility for digital sales.
Maddy summaryThis bill allows members of New Jersey's Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) who were previously in the Transit Employees' Retirement Program (TERP) before July 30, 2006, to count their TERP service toward PERS retirement benefits. Specifically, it provides one year of PERS service credit for every 3.5 years of service credited in TERP, provided all member and employer contributions (with interest) are transferred to PERS. The service credit applies only if the TERP funds are fully transferred and the member does not already have vested retirement benefits in TERP. This change ensures transit workers who moved to PERS after TERP's transition receive full credit for their prior service without needing additional contributions.
Maddy summaryThis bill (S 2175) requires major social media companies (with at least 5 million global users) to provide New Jersey residents a 24-hour toll-free phone number to report account fraud, such as unauthorized access. Companies must publish this number in security emails sent to NJ account holders and on their platform's homepage or help page. Failing to comply would violate New Jersey's consumer fraud law, risking fines up to $20,000 per violation. The bill was withdrawn after being approved as part of P.L.2025, c.352.
Maddy summaryS 1387 requires New Jersey professional licensing boards (e.g., for nurses, engineers) to collect data from other states on average application approval times for initial credentials. Boards must calculate a national average time for each profession and use it as their mandated timeline for processing new applications. If a board misses this average, it must use licensing fees to hire outside experts to identify improvements, with a six-month follow-up review. The bill mandates initial data collection within six months of enactment, annual accuracy reviews, and requires boards to retain fee revenue until they meet the national average standard. This directly affects applicants waiting for licenses and the boards managing those processes.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires all public meetings of New Jersey's State Board of Education to be accessible both in person and virtually. It mandates that the Board provide a publicly available virtual meeting link on its website and allows members of the public to submit comments remotely during sessions that accept public input. The law directly affects the State Board of Education in how it conducts meetings and the public who attend or comment on education policy discussions. These changes ensure broader public participation by removing physical attendance barriers for meetings about education policy.