Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PAUL D. MORIARTY
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman SADAF F. JAFFER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator FRED H. MADDEN, JR.
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Mejia and Senator Singer
SYNOPSIS
Allows passage of Certified Respiratory Therapist examination to qualify for licensure as respiratory therapist.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the examination required for licensure in respiratory therapy and amending P.L.1991, c.31.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 15 of P.L.1991, c.31 (C.45:14E-15) is amended to read as follows:
15. The board shall issue a license to perform respiratory care to an applicant, who [, at the time of the effective date of this act,] has passed the Registered Respiratory Therapist or the Certified Respiratory Therapist examination offered by the National Board for Respiratory Care, or by a successor organization.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.119, s.3)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill adds language to current law governing the licensure of respiratory therapists that allows the passage of the Certified Respiratory Therapist examination, offered by the National Board for Respiratory Care (“NBRC”) or any successor organization, to qualify an individual for licensure by the State Board of Respiratory Care. Presently, the law only recognizes passage of the Registered Respiratory Therapist Examination offered by the NBRC to qualify for licensure. Forty-seven other states recognize the passage of the Certified Respiratory Therapist examination as qualifying applicants for licensure, so this bill would conform New Jersey’s respiratory therapist requirements to most states in the country. Additionally, widening the options for the examinations an individual can take to qualify as a respiratory therapist will help address shortages in that profession in New Jersey.