Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 3939 — State of New Jersey (December 4, 2023)

Summary

The Senate Commerce Committee of the State of New Jersey, in a statement dated December 4, 2023, reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3939. As amended, the bill requires the boards created under Title 45 to collect from each state the time required to approve an application for an initial credential and to use the calculated national average as their own approval deadline. After one year, the Division of Consumer Affairs is to review whether boards meet the average; a board that does not is to use licensing fees to hire a third party to set best practices. Boards have six months after the effective date to collect the data and may retain credential fees until they meet the average.

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SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No.
3939

with
committee amendments

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: DECEMBER
4, 2023

The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably and
with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3939.

As
amended, the bill requires the boards created under Title 45 in current law to
collect, from each state in the country, the amount of time, or the average
amount of time, required or necessary to approve an application for an initial
credential for each profession or occupation in which the New Jersey board also
issues a credential. A board may contact a national or regional association to
obtain data regarding average approval times in other states. Based on the
data collected, a national average of the time required or necessary for
application approval is to be calculated for each profession and occupation and
used by the corresponding board in New Jersey as the amount of time it has to
approve an application for an initial credential. The Director of the Division
of Consumer Affairs, or a designee, is to review and approve the calculated
national averages of times prior to their use by the boards.

After
one year of using the calculated national average of times by the boards, the
division is to review if the boards are meeting the requisite calculated
average times for approval of applications for initial credentials. If the
review demonstrates a board is not meeting the calculated time, licensing fees
collected by the board are to be used to contract with a third-party, with
expertise in the professions or occupations regulated by the specific board, to
determine best practices that the board is to implement to meet the calculated
average time for application approval. Upon completion of the review by the
third-party, the board is to implement the best practices immediately. The
division is to review the data on the approval of applications for initial
credentials by the board six months after the implementation of best practices
to ensure the calculated national average time is met.

The
boards have six months after the effective date of the bill to complete the
initial collection of data and calculate the national average time. Additionally,
an annual review of the calculated national average time is to be performed by
each board, in collaboration with the director or a designee, to determine the
accuracy of the calculations.

The
bill stipulates that each board is entitled to retain all funds collected as a
result of fees paid for an initial credential and for the renewal,
reactivation, and reinstatement of a credential in order to administer the
provisions of this bill, until the board is meeting or surpassing its
calculated national average time for application approval.

As amended and
reported, Senate Bill No. 3939 is identical to Assembly Bill No. 5283.

COMMITTEE
AMENDMENT:

The committee amended the bill to make technical
updates.

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