The New Jersey State Bar Association vigorously advocated on several measures considered by the Legislature in the waning days of the recent legislative session. Guided by the knowledge, expertise and practical experience of its members, the Association issued position statements, spoke with legislators, collaborated with other interest groups and offered testimony on many bills considered in both the Senate and the Assembly.
Several bills supported by the Association now head to the Governor’s desk, along with a measure where the Association has expressed concerns. Here is a look at what is happening:
A4723 (McKeon)/S2740 (Codey) – Requires motor vehicle dealer to offer to delete personal information in motor vehicles in certain situations.
The Association supports this legislation and has urged the addition of language to strengthen the consumer protections in this bill. The bill would require motor vehicle dealers to offer to remove personally identifiable information that is stored on the motor vehicle’s computer systems upon sale or lease of the vehicle. The bill was amended to require the dealer to disclose a fee to the consumer prior to removing the data so that the consumer can choose to remove it or go somewhere else to remove it.
A5235 (Lampitt)/S3627 (Vitale) – Revises health insurance coverage requirements for treatment of infertility.
The NJSBA supports this bill, which expands access to treatment of infertility by requiring insurance companies to provide coverage for such treatment when a person has been determined by their physician to need medical intervention to achieve a pregnancy. The bill also revises the definition for the disease of infertility to include individuals who cannot achieve a pregnancy without assistance of reproductive medicine because they are either a same-sex couple or single.
A3837 (Jaffer)/S2459 (Ruiz) – Requires State government entities to provide vital documents and translation services in 15 most common non-English languages.
The Association supports this bill as an important measure that provides much-needed accessibility for New Jersey residents who are eligible for state benefits and services, but are unable to complete the forms because of limited-English proficiency. The NJSBA also encouraged expanding this access to other languages, if necessary.
A4292 (Carter)/S2841 (Scutari) – Raises minimum amount of liability coverage for commercial motor vehicles and autocabs.
The Association supports this bill, which raises the minimum bodily injury coverage for commercial vehicles. Its support centers on the fact that it is a New Jersey consumer-friendly provision that results in fairness in the administration of justice. The NJSBA pointed out that minimum coverage has remained stagnant for many years and commercial vehicle incidents most often result in significant damages. This increase – the first since 1972 – would reflect compensation more in line with actual damages. The Association further supports the amendment to create higher minimums for certain types of vehicles that can result in a bigger risk or more damages.
A1739 (McKeon)S2989 (Pou) – Makes for profit debt adjusters eligible for licensing to conduct business in the State.
The Assembly voted this bill out of the Legislature, and it now awaits the Governor’s signature. The NJSBA strongly opposes this bill, which permits licensing of for-profit debt adjusters, easing restrictions for for-profit debt adjustors to provide services in New Jersey. Nonprofit organizations now provide this service at no cost and provide counseling services to provide the same tools to consumers to reduce debt without paying a debt adjuster to do the same.
For more information on the NJSBA’s advocacy efforts, visit njsba.com.
This is a status report provided by the New Jersey State Bar Association on recently passed and pending legislation, regulations, gubernatorial nominations and/or appointments of interest to lawyers, as well as the involvement of the NJSBA as amicus in appellate court matters. To learn more, visit njsba.com.