NJBIA testified before an Assembly committee Monday in support of a package of bills aimed at improving operations at state licensing boards so that thousands of professionals, from accountants to veterinarians, can obtain the licenses they need to work in a timelier manner.
Bills A-3389, A-3390, and A-3577 were released by the Assembly Regulated Professions Committee. A committee substitute was advanced for the fourth bill, A-4275, which would require an online tracking system for project permits.
“With workforce shortages prevalent in many industries, it is important to ensure that the Division of Consumer Affairs is given the tools and infrastructure to operate efficiently and effectively to serve the over 720,000 licensees and the millions of consumers who rely on these professionals,” NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Althea D. Ford said in her written testimony submitted to the committee in advance of the hearing.
“These bills capture some of the pain points that have been communicated to the previous administration by NJBIA and a coalition of groups representing the licensed community since 2022,” Ford said.
Ford said A-3389 (Stanley/Speight/Collazos-Gill), A-3390 (Stanley) and A-3577 (Greenwald/Swain/Hutchison) would provide meaningful solutions to improve New Jersey's workforce pipeline infrastructure because they will:
- Ensure that a lack of quorum due to board vacancies does not hinder an individual’s license application from being processed in a timely manner.
- Provide insight into the Division of Consumer Affairs’ operational efficiencies via public access to non-confidential statistical datasets concerning application volume, processing times, and disposition of consumer complaints.
- Require the Division of Consumer Affairs to develop and administer profession-specific training for employees supporting the professional boards and reviewing the feasibility of outsourcing intake calls by individuals seeking a license in a specific profession or occupation to entities with industry and licensing expertise.
A fourth bill, A-4275 (Hutchison/Miller), originally would have establish an online statewide tracking system for permits, licenses, certifications, and form applications issued by any state Department, agency or boards. The committee substitute that was released instead focuses the online dashboard on permitting and assigns the task for creating the dasboard to the New Jersey Innovation Authority, instead of the state Office of Information Technology.
NJBIA Chief Government Affairs Officer Christopher Emigholz said NJBIA supported the changes contained in the committee substitute.
"NJBIA supports legislation that makes government more accountable to taxpayers," Emigholz said. "We are glad to see that the legislative and executive branches collaborating to improve this bill and better effectuate the good work Gov. Mike Sherrill is doing with her Saving Taxpayers Time and Money agenda."
Last week Sherrill announced that a pilot New Jersey Permitting Dashboard will launch this summer to help developers, businesses, and nonprofits track the permit applications for their projects.
The pilot will be limited to 10 energy, commercial, or multi-family housing projects that have recently submitted—or are about to submit—permit applications to the state departments of Environmental Protection, Transportation, and/or Community Affairs.
This story was updated at 4 p.m. to reflect the committee's actions.
