A1124

An Act establishing a temporary task force to study and propose a plan of action to address potential concerns associated with the growth of the State’s aging population.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. There is established the “Planning for an Aging Population Task Force.” The purpose of the task force shall be to study and identify concerns related to the growth of the State’s aging population, and develop and recommend a plan of action that is designed to prepare and enable the State to appropriately respond to the ongoing growth in this population and ensure that senior citizens in New Jersey continue to have sufficient access to necessary programs, services, and supports in both the near and long-term future.

b. The Planning for an Aging Population Task Force shall consist of 23 members, including 16 ex officio members or their designees, as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and seven public members, as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(1) The 16 ex officio members of the task force shall include the following persons, or their designees: the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner of Human Services, the New Jersey Long Term Care Ombudsman, the President of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, the Director of the Division of Aging Services in the Department of Human Services, the Director of the Office of Minority and Multicultural Health in the Department of Health, the Director of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services, the Director of the Office of Area Agencies on Aging Administration in the Department of Human Services, the Director of the Office of the Public Guardian for the Elderly in the Department of Human Services, the President of the New Jersey chapter of the AARP, the Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Jersey, the Executive Director of Disability Rights New Jersey, the President of the Home Care and Hospice Association of New Jersey, the President of LeadingAge New Jersey, the President of the Alzheimer’s Association Greater New Jersey Chapter, and the Executive Director of Caregivers of New Jersey.

(2) The seven public members of the task force shall be appointed by the Governor, and shall include one representative from a local office on aging in each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State; two senior citizens who are 65 years of age or older; and two caregivers of senior citizens who are 65 years of age or older.

c. Vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner provided for the original appointments.

d. The task force shall organize as soon as practicable, but not later than the 30th day following the appointment of its members. Upon its organization, the task force shall select a chairperson from among its membership, and the chairperson shall appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the task force.

e. The task force may meet and hold hearings at the times and places it may designate, but shall hold at least one hearing in each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State. The task force may conduct business without a quorum, but may only vote on recommendations when a quorum is present.

f. The members of the task force shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and other miscellaneous expenses incurred in the necessary performance of their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the task force for its purposes.

g. The task force shall be entitled to receive assistance and services from any State, county, or municipal department, board, commission, or agency, as it may require, and as may be available to it for its purposes. The task force shall further be authorized to consult with, and receive testimony from, any association, organization, department, or individual having knowledge of, or experience with, issues related to aging, or matters affecting senior citizens or their caregivers.

h. The Department of Human Services shall provide professional and clerical staff to the task force, as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

i. The task force may solicit, receive, and expend any grant moneys or other funds that may be made available for its purposes by any government agency or any private for-profit or not-for-profit organization or entity.

2. a. The Planning for an Aging Population Task Force shall have the duty to:

(1) Analyze population data, demographic data, and other appropriate data points for New Jersey to: (a) identify the current number, percentage, location, and density of senior citizens residing in the State; and (b) estimate the extent to which the senior citizen population in New Jersey will grow or otherwise change in the near to long-term future;

(2) Identify, and compile an inventory of, existing State, local, and non-profit resources, programs, and services that are available to senior citizens in the State;

(3) Analyze the nature and severity of illnesses or conditions commonly suffered by senior citizens in the State, and evaluate the State’s capacity to timely and humanely provide physical and mental health care, including home health care, and other necessary services to a growing population of senior citizens suffering from such ailments;

(4) Consult with, and solicit and review information and data maintained by, the Department of Labor and the Department of Community Affairs, as may be necessary to identify the potential impacts on the State’s labor and housing markets that may result from the ongoing growth of the State’s aging population. The Departments of Labor and Community Affairs shall provide the task force with any information or data requested thereby for the purposes of this paragraph;

(5) Solicit and receive testimony from senior citizens and the caregivers of senior citizens, from health care professionals and other service providers, and from representatives of relevant organizations, associations, and executive departments, on the following topics: (a) the nature, extent, quality, accessibility, and sufficiency of home health care, telemedicine-based health services, and other physical and mental health care services, day programs and other community-based programs and services, nursing home care, hospice care, and other long-term health care services, social service programs and benefits programs, personal caregiver services, non-institutional housing and independent senior living opportunities, and transportation services that are currently available for senior citizens in the State, and the ways in which such programs, services, and housing can be modified, expanded, or improved to accommodate the growing aging population; (b) the personal financial costs associated with aging, including, but not limited to, the loss or expenditure of income associated with retirement from the workforce or the death of an income-earning spouse, the loss or expenditure of income and assets required for senior citizens to receive financial, nutritional, or other federal or State benefits, the out-of-pocket costs expended by senior citizens in association with the ongoing receipt of physical and mental health care, including home-based care, nursing home or other institutional care, and personal care; (c) the costs to the State, and the impacts to State and local policies, procedures, methodologies, and labor, housing, and other markets that may result from the ongoing growth of the aging population; and (d) any other topic that is relevant to the task force’s work; and

(6) Develop and propose a Statewide plan of action that will enable the State to proactively address the problems and concerns identified by the task force and be better prepared to effectively, efficiently, and humanely serve the growing aging population in New Jersey in both the near and long-term future.

b. (1) Not later than 18 months after the task force is organized pursuant to section 2 of this act, it shall prepare and submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, a written report of its findings and recommendations relating to the growth of the aging population in the State and the problems that may result from this growing population, and a copy of the Statewide plan of action that has been proposed by the task force pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection a. of this section.

(2) The written report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include, at a minimum, the following information: (a) depersonalized statistical data indicating the total number, percentage, regional location, and residential density of senior citizens currently residing in the State; (b) estimated projections indicating the extent to which the State’s aging population is likely to grow, and the specific regions of the State that are likely to experience the largest amount of growth in the aging population, in both the near and long-term future; (c) a description of the nature and sufficiency of federal, State, and local programs and services that are currently available to address the health care, social service, housing, labor, and transportation needs of senior citizens in New Jersey, and the capacity of such existing programs and services to adapt to and accommodate prospective growth in the aging population; (d) a description of the financial and other limitations that may prevent the State from providing adequate programs and services to the growing population of senior citizens in both the near and long-term future; (e) a description of the concerns, and any potential solutions to those concerns, that were elucidated by the task force in testimony received under paragraph (5) of subsection a. of this section; (f) a description of how the State’s labor and housing markets will be affected by rapid growth in the aging population; and (g) recommendations for legislation or regulatory or programmatic changes that would be necessary to implement the task force’s recommended plan of action to address the issues that may be associated with the continued growth of the aging population in the State.

c. The task force shall dissolve on the 30th day following the submission of its written report and proposed plan of action prepared pursuant to this section.

3. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall expire on the 30th day following the submission of the task force’s written report and proposed plan of action to the Governor and the Legislature, as provided by section 2 of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill would establish the “Planning for an Aging Population Task Force.” The purpose of the task force would be to study and identify concerns related to the growth of the State’s aging population, and develop and recommend a plan of action that is designed to prepare and enable the State to appropriately respond to the ongoing growth in this population and ensure that senior citizens in New Jersey continue to have sufficient access to necessary programs, services, and supports in both the near and long-term future.

The Planning for an Aging Population Task Force will consist of 23 members, including 16 ex officio members or their designees, and seven public members, each of whom will have experience and expertise in issues related to aging.

The task force may meet and hold hearings at the times and places it may designate, but will be required to hold at least one hearing in each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State.

The Planning for an Aging Population Task Force will have the duty to:

1) Analyze population data, demographic data, and other appropriate data points for New Jersey to: identify the current number, percentage, location, and density of senior citizens residing in the State, and estimate the extent to which the senior citizen population in New Jersey will grow or otherwise change in the near to long-term future;

2) Identify, and compile an inventory of, existing State, local, and non-profit resources, programs, and services that are available to senior citizens in the State;

3) Analyze the nature and severity of illnesses or conditions commonly suffered by senior citizens in the State, and evaluate the State’s capacity to timely and humanely provide physical and mental health care, including home health care, and other necessary services to a growing population of senior citizens suffering from such ailments;

4) Consult with, and solicit and review information and data maintained by, the Department of Labor and the Department of Community Affairs, as may be necessary to identify the potential impacts on the State’s labor and housing markets that may result from the ongoing growth of the State’s aging population. The Departments of Labor and Community Affairs shall provide the task force with any information or data requested thereby for the purposes of this paragraph;

5) Solicit and receive testimony from senior citizens and the caregivers of senior citizens, from health care professionals and other service providers, and from representatives of relevant organizations, associations, and executive departments, on topics related to aging; and

6) Develop and propose a Statewide plan of action that will enable the State to proactively address the problems and concerns identified by the task force and be better prepared to effectively, efficiently, and humanely serve the growing aging population in New Jersey in both the near and long-term future.

Not later than 18 months after the task force is organized, it will be required to prepare and submit to the Governor and the

Legislature: 1) a written report of its findings and recommendations relating to the growth of the aging population in the State and the problems that may result from this growing population; and 2) a copy of the Statewide plan of action that has been proposed by the task force. The task force will dissolve on the 30th day following the submission of the written report and proposed plan of action.