LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

SENATE, No. 4581

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

DATED: NOVEMBER 25, 2025

SUMMARY

Synopsis:	Requires Division of Consumer Affairs to create open data portal and provide certain datasets online.
Type of Impact:	Annual State expenditure increase.
Agencies Affected:	Department of Law and Public Safety.

Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Annual Fiscal Impact
State Expenditure Increase	Indeterminate

· 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 information concerning 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 information concerning 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. 

Section:	Law and Public Safety
Analyst:	Kristin Brunner Santos Lead Fiscal Analyst
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.).