SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

ASSEMBLY, No. 2962

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: NOVEMBER 17, 1997

      The Senate Judiciary Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill No. 2962.

      Recently enacted P.L.1997, c.100 was aimed at preventing persons convicted of certain criminal offenses from being employed by home health care agencies, nurses' registries, employment agencies and certain facilities which employ persons to serve the elderly. ACS for A-2962 would replace the language providing for an employment ban with language providing that a person convicted of a criminal offense listed in P.L. 1997, c.110 would be disqualified from certification as a nurse aide, personal care assistant or homemaker-home health aide. Under the provisions of ACS for A-2962, unless an applicant first passes a criminal background check, the Department of Health and Senior Services could not issue a nurse aide or personal care assistant certification and the Board of Nursing could not issue a homemaker-home health aide certification. The committee amendments change the effective date of the bill from "the first day of the sixth month after enactment" to "immediately."