LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

[Second Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 1925

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Modifies languages that examinations are to be conducted in for applicants seeking professional license issued by New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling.

Type of Impact:

Annual State expenditure increase.

Agencies Affected:

Department of Law and Public Safety.

 

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

Annual

 

State Cost -

 

 

(1)Document Translation Services

Rate of $0.15 to $0.17 per word, plus

$39.50 per hour for desktop publishing,

for up to four additional languages

 

(2) Oral Interpretation Services

Rate of $53,400 per 1,000 hours

for up to four additional languages

 

 

 

 

·         The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) determines that the New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling in the Division of Consumer Affairs will incur indeterminate annual costs under the bill to provide written and practical examinations in up to four additional languages.  The division will additionally incur some periodic administrative costs, but these could likely be subsumed within existing staff resources.

·         The OLS is unable to estimate the total costs of the document translation services and interpretation services required under the bill because of various unknown factors, such as the length of the documents requiring translation and the number of practical exams that would be administered annually in the newly required languages.

·         The OLS also determines that widening the number of languages in which the examinations are offered may increase the number of licensees in this career field, thereby increasing revenues by an indeterminate amount annually from license fees.

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

      This bill modifies current law by requiring the New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling to offer its practical and written examinations in the four most commonly spoken languages in the State in addition to English, unless the selected languages are determined by the Division of Consumer Affairs to not be in compliance with current law concerning the translation of vital documents and interpretation services provided by government entities.  Practicing licensees would also be allowed the use of a translator in the four selected languages.

      Current law only requires the board to provide the examinations in English, with the option of Spanish in the case of practicing licensees who may also be approved by the board for the use of a translator.

      If the board is deemed compliant with current law regarding the languages in which the examinations are to be conducted, the division is to consult the American Community Survey issued by the United States Census Bureau, or another comparable data set, to determine the four other most commonly spoken languages in the State and then post on its website the languages in which the practical and written examination will be offered. The division is to verify, at least every five years, the four most commonly spoken languages, other than English, in New Jersey.

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received.

 

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS determines that the State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling in the Division of Consumer Affairs will incur indeterminate annual costs under the bill to provide written and practical examinations in up to four additional languages.  The division will additionally incur some periodic administrative costs, but these could likely be absorbed within existing staff resources.  Current law only requires the board to provide the examinations in English, with the option of Spanish only in the case of practicing licensees who may also be approved by the board for the use of a translator.  For the purposes of this analysis, the OLS assumes that at least some Spanish language documentation and translation services would need to be provided.  Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in the State after English.  The OLS is unable to estimate the total costs of the document translation services and interpretation services required under the bill because of various unknown factors, such as the length of the documents requiring translation and the number of practical exams that would be administered annually in the newly required languages.

      For context, the OLS solicited translation rates from one provider serving State government entities.  That provider charges $0.15 per word to translate documents into that vendor’s 12 most requested languages of Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Arabic, Russian, Farsi, Vietnamese, Swahili, Somali, Korean, French, Portuguese, German, and Italian.  A language such as Tagalog, Hindi, Gujarati, or Polish would cost either $0.16 or $0.17 per word.  Document translations also incur an additional cost of $39.50 per hour for desktop publishing. That same provider charges $0.89 per minute for video remote interpretation services.

      The OLS also determines that widening the number of languages in which the examinations are offered may increase the number of licensees in this career field, thereby increasing revenues by an indeterminate amount annually from license fees.

 

 

Section:

Law and Public Safety

Analyst:

Kristin Brunner Santos

Lead Fiscal Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

 

 

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).