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A 5624

Enacts the mental health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Nikki Lucas

Requires NJ DCA to create and annually update an open data portal with non-confidential licensing, exams, and consumer complaint data to boost public access and transparency.

PRINT NUMBER 5624A
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Bill Summary · A 5624

Summary — A5624: "Mental health assessment and record keeping for the coroner's office act"

Note: bill text and materials presented actually enact an open data portal requirement for the Division of Consumer Affairs. Below summarizes the bill as introduced (Print No. 5624A).

Purpose

Require the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA), Department of Law and Public Safety, to create, maintain, and at least annually update an open data portal on its website to provide public access to non‑confidential statistical datasets the Division collects — improving transparency and public access to licensing, registration, certification, and consumer complaint data.

Key provisions

  • Directs DCA to create, maintain, and update (at least annually) an open data portal on the Division’s Internet website.
  • Required datasets (non‑confidential, statistical) include, at minimum:
    1. Aggregate counts of licensure/registration/certification applications (including renewals).
    2. Average processing times for those applications (including incomplete and renewal applications).
    3. Aggregate counts of active licenses/registrations/certifications (including newly issued and renewed).
    4. License/registration/certification population by county (including newly issued and renewed).
    5. Passage and failure rates of professional examinations administered by boards/committees.
    6. Aggregate counts of consumer complaints filed and the average days from receipt to response.
  • Portal functionality requirements:
    • Ability to sort datasets by professional/occupational board or committee and by license/registration/certification type.
    • Year‑by‑year comparisons for each dataset.
  • Data protection: Datasets must comply with the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and all applicable State and federal privacy and information security laws; data not subject to public disclosure must be excluded.
  • Effective date: the first day of the ninth month after enactment. The DCA Director may take anticipatory administrative actions before that date.

Who is affected

  • Division of Consumer Affairs operations and IT resources.
  • Professional and occupational boards/committees within DCA (51 boards overseeing ~750,000 licensed professionals).
  • Regulated businesses (~60,000) overseen by DCA.
  • Consumers, researchers, policymakers, journalists, and other members of the public who use licensing and complaint data.

Fiscal impact

  • Office of Legislative Services estimates an indeterminate one‑time State expenditure increase to DCA to create the portal, plus indeterminate recurring costs to maintain and update it. The OLS could not quantify costs (uncertain whether existing staff, new hires, or vendors would be used). This estimate was prepared because the Executive Branch did not submit a fiscal note.

Procedural status and timeline

  • Introduced in the Assembly: May 8, 2025 (sponsor: Asm. Nikki Lucas).
  • Referred to Assembly Regulated Professions Committee: May 8, 2025.
  • Committee reported favorably and referred to Assembly Appropriations: May 15, 2025.
  • Print Number: 5624A.
  • Effective: first day of ninth month after enactment (with anticipatory actions allowed).

Related bills

  • Companion: S4581 (Senate)
  • Prior-session: A9027

(For full legislative text and updates check the New Jersey Legislature website or bill docket.)

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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