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Bill

A 4000

Requires vessels used for certain watersports to display a flag

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Angelo Santabarbara

Creates an independent New Jersey Office of Professional Corporate Guardians to license, regulate, and oversee corporate guardians, boosting transparency and protections for wards.

REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION
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Bill Summary · A 4000

Summary — A4000: Establishes Office of Professional Corporate Guardians

Status: Referred to Transportation (most recent status); Introduced March 7, 2024
Primary Sponsors: Assemblymen/women Reginald W. Atkins, Shanique Speight, Carol A. Murphy, Angelo Santabarbara
Companion Bill: S3148

Purpose

A4000 creates an independent Office of Professional Corporate Guardians (allocated within but not controlled by the Department of Human Services) to license, register, regulate, and oversee corporate entities that serve as general guardians for adults and minors with disabilities or who are otherwise incapacitated. The bill seeks to set practice standards, increase transparency, and provide enforcement tools for professional corporate guardianship in New Jersey.

Key Provisions

  • Establishes the Office of Professional Corporate Guardians (the “Office”), independent though administratively placed in DHS.
  • Requires the DHS Commissioner to appoint a full‑time executive director who must be a New Jersey‑admitted attorney with relevant experience.
  • Grants the Office authority to:
    • Adopt regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act.
    • Set standards of practice, licensing/registration criteria, application and issuance fees.
    • Develop qualification criteria for professional corporate guardians.
    • Create disciplinary processes (disqualification, suspension, revocation, non‑renewal) and hearing procedures for misconduct.
    • Address conflicts of interest, prohibited activities, and fiduciary breaches.
    • Develop guidelines for initial and annual guardianship reports and maintain a searchable public database of registered corporate guardians on the DHS website.
  • Defines terms including “professional corporate guardian” (for‑profit or nonprofit business entities), “substitute guardian” (employee of a registered corporate guardian), “ward,” “disabled person,” “incapacitated person,” and others.
  • Lists initial registration requirements (as presented in the available text), including: having an office in New Jersey, maintaining at least five substitute guardians employed by the entity or an affiliate, proof of professional liability insurance, posting a fiduciary bond, and credit checks for owners (full statutory text truncated in provided document).

Who Would Be Affected

  • Professional corporate guardians and their employees (substitute guardians) — new registration, staffing, insurance, bonding, and reporting obligations.
  • Wards, disabled and incapacitated persons (18–64) and minors with developmental/intellectual disabilities — oversight and protections through standardized practice and reporting.
  • Heirs and family members interacting with family‑choice or personal‑choice guardians.
  • Courts — coordination with a state regulatory regime for corporate guardians.

Procedural History & Timeline

  • Introduced in Assembly: March 7, 2024.
  • Reported with committee amendments (Aging & Human Services): June 6, 2024 (1R).
  • Reported with additional amendments (Assembly Health): November 24, 2025 (2R); referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee.
  • Listed as REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION (duplicate entries dated Jan 30, 2025 in the provided record).
  • Multiple reprint versions reflect committee amendments (1R and 2R).

Potential Impact / Considerations

  • Increases regulatory oversight, transparency (public database), and enforcement mechanisms for corporate guardians, potentially reducing abuses and improving reporting.
  • New registration, insurance, bonding, staffing, and reporting requirements may increase compliance costs for guardian entities; the minimum-employment threshold (five substitute guardians) could create barriers for small providers.
  • Establishing a dedicated, independent office centralizes oversight but will require appropriations and administrative setup (executive director, staff, database).
  • Full statutory details and any additional requirements were truncated in the provided text; companion S3148 and later reprints should be consulted for the complete, final provisions.

Notes: Text versions include the original introduced bill and amended 1R (June 6, 2024) and 2R (Nov 24, 2025) drafts.

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

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