LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE TO

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE, No. 1782

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JUNE 30, 1997

      The Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1782 of 1997 amends the "Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979," P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-1 et seq.), to provide that a person shall not own or operate a rooming or boarding house that offers personal care services to residents with special needs, including, but not limited to, persons with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia, without a valid license to own or operate such a facility, issued by the Commissioner of Community Affairs.

      The provisions of the substitute require that the Commissioner of Community Affairs establish standards that provide an assurance that the needs of residents with special needs, including, but not limited to, persons with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia, will be met. The standards, which shall be adopted by regulation no later than 90 days after enactment of the bill, shall include, at a minimum, the following:

      ∙    staffing levels;

      ∙    staff qualifications and training;

      ∙    special dietary needs of residents;

      ∙    special supervision requirements relating to the individual needs of residents;

      ∙    building safety requirements appropriate to the needs of residents;

      ∙    special health monitoring of residents by qualified, licensed health care professionals, including a requirement that a medical assessment be performed on a resident with special needs, as determined necessary by the commissioner, prior to admission and on a quarterly basis thereafter to ensure that the facility is appropriate to the needs of the resident; and

      ∙    criteria for discharging residents which shall be set forth in the admission agreement which shall be provided to the resident or the resident's representative prior to or upon admission. The commissioner may revoke the license of any provider who violates the criteria for discharging residents.

      Also, the substitute provides that a person who owns or operates a rooming or boarding house shall not provide health care services in that facility; however, this provision is not to be construed to prohibit a licensed health care professional acting within the scope of that person's license from providing health care services to a resident of a rooming or boarding house in that facility.

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) is unable to estimate the fiscal impact of this legislation on the State as the number of facilities that currently provide personal care services to residents with special needs, as well as the number of persons who may apply for approval to establish such residences, and the exact licensing fee that will be charged to persons operating these facilities is unknown. However, the OLS notes that the Department of Community Affairs will incur costs to issue such licenses and insure that the residences are meeting the standards set forth in this substitute, to be adopted by regulation of the commissioner, to assure that the needs of residents with special needs, including, but not limited to, persons with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or other forms of dementia, will be met. The OLS further notes that these costs will be offset in part through annual licensing fees established by the commissioner, which for rooming and boarding homes are currently not less than $75 nor more than $150, as provided in N.J.S.A.55:13B-7.

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67.