LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
ASSEMBLY, No. 5135
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: AUGUST 26, 2025
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
Establishes central registry for, and provides for informational outreach to, senior citizens living in New Jersey. |
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Type of Impact: |
Annual increase in State expenditures; potential annual county cost increase. |
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Agencies Affected: |
Department of Human Services; counties. |
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Office of Legislative Services Estimate |
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Annual Fiscal Impact |
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State Expenditure Increase |
$500,000 |
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Potential County Cost Increase |
Indeterminate |
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· The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the Department of Human Services will incur additional costs of about $500,000 annually for the Division of Aging Services to establish and maintain the voluntary senior citizens registry and conduct the Statewide multi-media public awareness campaign to raise awareness of the registry.
· The availability of information on the registry regarding the 21 county-supported Area Agencies on Aging may increase seniors’ utilization of programs and services, thereby increasing annual costs for county governments by an indeterminate amount.
BILL DESCRIPTION
The bill requires the Division of Aging Services in the Department of Human Services to establish and maintain a voluntary central registry of senior citizens residing in the State. The division will use the information in the registry to: compile statistical information on the number of senior citizens in the State, provide wellness check calls during emergencies, and provide information on available services and programs for senior citizens, including addresses of local Area Agencies on Aging.
The bill authorizes the division to receive death record notifications from the Department of Health’s Electronic Death Registration System concerning the death of an individual included in the registry for the purposes of updating the registry.
The division and certain designated agencies may use the registry information to implement the provisions of the bill; otherwise, the information will be confidential and not divulged.
The division will conduct a Statewide multi-media public awareness campaign in English and Spanish to raise awareness among individuals regarding the central registry.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes that the Department of Human Services will incur additional costs of about $500,000 annually for the Division of Aging Services to establish and maintain the voluntary senior citizens registry and conduct the Statewide multi-media public awareness campaign to raise awareness of the registry. The OLS bases this estimate off the actual spending on the Department of Health’s cancer registry, which has averaged approximately $400,000 annually since FY 2021, and the department’s annual spending on the breast cancer public awareness campaign, which has averaged $90,000 over the same period. To the extent that the division utilizes more extensive or more costly media for the public awareness campaign or the bill increases workload for staff, the division will face higher costs to implement the bill’s provisions.
The availability of information on the registry regarding the 21 county-supported Area Agencies on Aging may increase seniors’ utilization of programs and services, thereby increasing annual costs for county governments by an indeterminate amount.
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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.)