LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
ASSEMBLY, No. 5624
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: SEPTEMBER 10, 2025
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
Requires Division of Consumer Affairs to create open data portal and provide certain datasets online. |
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Type of Impact: |
Annual State expenditure increase. |
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Agencies Affected: |
Department of Law and Public Safety. |
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Office of Legislative Services Estimate |
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Annual Fiscal Impact |
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State Expenditure Increase |
Indeterminate |
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· The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that the bill will cause an indeterminate one-time State expenditure increase to the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety to create an open data portal that provides public access to certain datasets collected by the division. An indeterminate amount of costs will periodically accrue thereafter to the division to maintain and update the portal.
· The OLS, however, has no insights into whether the division would rely on existing staff to create, maintain, and update the portal, hire additional staff, or engage a vendor to arrive at a cost estimate for the portal.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill requires the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety to create, maintain, and update, at least annually, an open data portal on the division’s Internet website that provides public access to certain datasets collected by the division, including specified information on professional and occupational licensing, registration, and certification as well as consumer complaints.
Further, the Division of Consumer Affairs is required
to ensure that public access to the open data portal includes: (1) the ability
to sort each dataset by professional or occupational board or committee within
the division and by license, registration, or certification type, as
applicable; and (2) a year-by-year comparison of each dataset.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS finds that the bill will cause an indeterminate one-time State expenditure increase to the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety to create an open data portal that provides public access to certain datasets collected by the division. An indeterminate amount of costs will periodically accrue thereafter to the division to maintain and update the portal. The OLS, however, has no insights into whether the division would rely on existing staff to create, maintain, and update the portal, hire additional staff, or engage a vendor to arrive at a cost estimate for the portal.
Division of Consumer Affairs Background: The Division of Consumer Affairs oversees the Office of Consumer Protection, Bureau of Securities, Charities Section, Office of Weights and Measures, and Legalized Games of Chance Section, as well as 51 professional and occupational boards that oversee over 750,000 licensed professionals, and its Regulated Business Section that oversees approximately 60,000 registered businesses, according to a 2024 press release by the Office of the Attorney General.
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Section: |
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Analyst: |
Lead 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.