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.