LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
SENATE, No. 4387
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: JUNE 26, 2025
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
Requires establishment of tracking system in Division of Consumer Affairs to determine compliance with continuing education requirements. |
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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 develop the automated system to track the continuing education credits or hours completed by licensees under its purview. An indeterminate amount of costs will periodically accrue thereafter to the division for the maintenance of the system.
· The OLS, however, has no insights into whether the division would rely on existing staff to develop and maintain the system, hire additional staff, or engage a vendor to arrive at a cost estimate for the automated system.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill directs the Division of Consumer Affairs to develop an automated system that allows its boards, committees, or other regulatory entities to track each licensee’s continuing education credits or hours required for license renewal.
The system is anticipated to be designed to determine whether each licensee has met the continuing education requirement of the particular profession or occupation before the license is renewed, notwithstanding whether the relevant board, committee, or regulatory entity determined the licensee experienced hardship.
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 develop the automated system to track the continuing education credits or hours completed by licensees under its purview. An indeterminate amount of costs will periodically accrue thereafter to the division for the maintenance of the system. The OLS, however, has no insights into whether the division would rely on existing staff to develop and maintain the system, hire additional staff, or engage a vendor to arrive at a cost estimate for the automated system.
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: |
Law and Public Safety |
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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.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).