LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
ASSEMBLY, No. 2198
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: DECEMBER 23, 2025
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
Clarifies DHS authority to regulate sober living homes and halfway houses as residential substance abuse aftercare facilities; requires background checks and other protections for residents of residential substance abuse facilities. |
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Type of Impact: |
Annual State expenditure and revenue increases. |
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Agencies Affected: |
Department of Human Services, Department of Health, Department of Community Affairs, Department of Law and Public Safety. |
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Office of Legislative Services Estimate |
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Fiscal Impact |
Annual |
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State Expenditure Increase |
Indeterminate |
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State Revenue Increase |
Indeterminate |
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· The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that State costs will increase by an indeterminate amount to shift responsibility for the licensure and inspection of substance use disorder treatment facilities from the Department of Health to the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, and to move licensure and regulation of transitional sober living homes for individuals with alcohol or substance use disorder, from the Department of Community Affairs to the division.
· The OLS cannot anticipate the magnitude of the overall impact attributable to these shifts because the bill does not specify whether the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services must maintain or is authorized to alter the existing licensure timeframe and fee schedule for substance use disorder treatment facilities and sober living homes.
· The Department of Human Services’ costs will increase by an indeterminate amount to conduct biweekly inspections of alcohol and substance use disorder treatment facilities under investigation for violating the laws or regulations governing these facilities, until such time as the investigation concludes.
· Additional costs for the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety to perform criminal background checks for certain employees and owners of alcohol or substance use disorder treatment facilities will be offset by State revenues from fees paid by the relevant employees and owners for the cost of the background checks.
· The Department of Human Services will incur indeterminate costs to modify and routinely update an existing online database, which allows users to search for alcohol and substance use disorder treatment facilities in the State, to include information on sober living homes and patient bed availability for all facility types. To the extent that the department secures federal or private grant funding for the required registry, as permitted under the bill, annual State costs may be minimized.
BILL DESCRIPTION
The bill amends the State’s substance abuse treatment laws regarding the licensure of substance use disorder treatment facilities and the licensure and regulation of sober living homes. Specifically, the bill transfers responsibility for the licensure of substance use disorder treatment facilities from the Department of Health to the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, and for the licensure and regulation of transitional sober living homes from the Department of Community Affairs to the department. The department will now regulate sober living homes for individuals with alcohol or substance use disorder as residential aftercare facilities.
The bill also requires the Department of Human Services to conduct biweekly inspections of alcohol and substance use disorder treatment facilities that are under investigation for a violation of the laws and regulations governing these facilities or under any other authority. Biweekly inspections will continue until the department concludes its investigation.
The department will be required to ensure that a criminal history record check is performed by the State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for an administrator or representative payee, employed by an alcohol or substance use disorder treatment facility, or an owner of the property on which such a facility is located, prior to issuing the facility’s license or certificate of approval. The cost for these background checks will be borne by the individual for whom the criminal history record background check is performed.
The department additionally will develop and maintain a searchable registry of information concerning alcohol and substance use disorder treatment facilities, including the services and number of available treatment beds in each facility. Facilities will be required to provide daily updates on the availability of open patient beds. The registry will be publicly accessible on the department’s website, and through the addictions telephone hotline and the Statewide 2-1-1 telephone system.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The Department of Law and Public Safety will incur additional expenses, in an indeterminate amount, for the Division of State Police to perform criminal background checks for administrators and representative payees employed by an alcohol or substance use disorder treatment facility, and the owners of property on which an alcohol or substance use disorder treatment facility is located. Because the bill provides that the relevant individuals will bear the cost of the required background checks, State revenues will increase by an amount that will offset State expenditures.
Finally, the department will incur indeterminate expenditures to develop and maintain a registry to collect, track, and report information on the number of available patient beds in licensed or certified alcohol and substance use disorder treatment facilities. The OLS assumes that the department will modify the existing database, available on the department’s website, that allows users to search for alcohol and substance use disorder treatment facilities, to include information on sober living homes. Given the lack of publicly available information on the frequency with which the department updates the existing database, the OLS cannot anticipate the department’s annual costs to update the bed availability information with daily information provided by each treatment facility. To the extent that the department secures federal or private grant funding to provide and maintain the required registry, as permitted under the bill, State costs may be minimized and revenues would increase.
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Section: |
Human Services |
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Analyst: |
Senior Fiscal Analyst |
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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.).