SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3560

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 19, 2025

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3560.

     As amended, this bill enters New Jersey into the Interstate Physician Assistant Licensure Compact (compact).

     Under the bill, to participate in this compact, a state is to:  (1) license physician assistants (PAs); (2) participate in the Compact Commission’s Data System; (3) have a mechanism in place for receiving and investigating complaints against Licensees and License applicants; (4) notify the Commission of any Adverse Action against a Licensee or License applicant and the existence of Significant Investigative Information regarding a Licensee or License applicant; (5) fully implement a Criminal Background Check requirement; (6) comply with the Rules of the Compact Commission; (7) utilize passage of a recognized national exam such as the NCCPA PANCE as a requirement for PA licensure; and (8) grant the Compact Privilege to a holder of a Qualifying License in a Participating State.

     The bill provides that to exercise the compact privilege, a Licensee is to: (1) have graduated from a PA program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. or other programs authorized by Commission Rule; (2) hold current NCCPA certification; (3) have no felony or misdemeanor conviction; (4) have never had a controlled substance license, permit, or registration suspended or revoked by a State or by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration; (5) have a unique identifier as determined by Commission Rule; (6) hold a Qualifying License; (7) have had no revocation of a License or limitation or restriction on any License currently held due to an adverse action; (8) if a Licensee has had a limitation or restriction on a License or Compact Privilege due to an Adverse Action, two years must have elapsed from the date on which the License or Compact Privilege is no longer limited or restricted due to the Adverse Action; (9) if a Compact Privilege has been revoked or is limited or restricted in a Participating State for conduct that would not be a basis for disciplinary action in a Participating State in which the Licensee is practicing or applying to practice under a Compact Privilege, that Participating State is to have the discretion not to consider such action as an Adverse Action requiring the denial or removal of a Compact Privilege in that State; (10) notify the Compact Commission that the Licensee is seeking the Compact Privilege in a Remote State; (11) meet any Jurisprudence Requirement of a Remote State in which the Licensee is seeking to practice under the Compact Privilege; and (12) report to the Commission any Adverse Action taken by a non-participating State within 30 days after the action is taken.

     As of May 2025, Washington, Utah, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, Tennessee, Arkansas, Montana, Kansas, and Delaware have enacted the compact.

      As amended and reported by the committee, Senate Bill No. 3560 is identical to Assembly Bill No. 4328 (1R), which was also reported by the committee on this date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments make technical changes to the bill concerning grammar and formatting.