A 4762

ASSEMBLY, No. 4762
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� ALEXANDER "AVI" SCHNALL
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
���� Revises law related to licensure of nursing home
administrators.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act concerning licensure of nursing home administrators,
and amending and supplementing P.L.1968, c.356.
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 2 of P.L.1968,
c.356 (C.30:11-12) is amended to read as follows:
���� 2.� a. Application for
license required by [this
act] P.L.1968,
c.356 (C.30:11-11 et seq.) and P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill) shall be made upon forms furnished by the [Commissioner
of the Department of Institutions and Agencies]
Nursing Home Administrator�s Licensing Board. �The applicant shall be
required to furnish evidence of his or her ability to comply with the minimum
standards for administrators to successfully supervise the institution for
which the license is sought.� An applicant for licensure as a nursing home
administrator shall submit the following to the board:
���� (1)�� a completed
application in the form developed by the board which must, within six months of
the effective date of P.L.    , c.    (C.        )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), be accepted in an electronic
format as specified in section 4 of P.L.   , c.    (C.        )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill); and that provides transparency
for the applicant to view the date and time of submission, date and time of
board staff review, any requested revisions, the date and time of supplemental
submissions, and the date and time of approval of denial determinations;
���� (2)�� declaration of intent
to become a citizen, if applicable;
���� (3)�� a non-refundable
licensure application fee as set by the board;
���� (4)�� an official
transcript from an accredited college or university, which shall be accepted by
the board in either electronic form or in printed form;
���� (5)�� a letter of reference
from the preceptor of the applicant;
���� (6)�� documentation of
administrative experience identified in subsection b. of this section;
���� (7)�� documentation of
successful completion of 100 course hours identified in subsection b. of this
section;
���� (8)�� documentation of
involvement on the part of the applicant in disciplinary proceedings with a
licensure board or governmental agency in any jurisdiction the applicant is, or
has been, licensed as an administrator, and where, as a result of that
proceeding, a sanction of at least the level of a written warning was imposed
on the administrator, if applicable;
���� (9)�� documentation of any
offense in violation of State or federal law; and
���� (10)� a signed, notarized
statement on the application by the applicant indicating that the statements
and documents are true and correct.
���� An application submitted to
the board shall remain active for a period of two years, by the end of which
period, an applicant shall meet all eligibility requirements to take the
licensing examination.� At the expiration of the two-year period, the board shall
deem the application for licensure to be inactive and, at the board�s
discretion, may require the applicant to submit a new application.� An
applicant may request an extension of the two-year period with documentation of
the progress made toward meeting the license requirements to the board prior to
the expiration of the initial two-year period.� The board, or its designee, may
grant an extension pursuant to regulations established by the board.�
���� b.��� Notwithstanding any
law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, an applicant for a license as a
nursing home administrator shall:
���� (1)�� be at least 21 years
of age;
���� (2)�� be a citizen of the
United States or have declared the intent to become a citizen;
���� (3)�� have, at a minimum, a
baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher learning;
���� (4)�� have served either:
���� (a)�� as an administrative
intern in one or more New Jersey licensed nursing homes for at least 1,750
hours at a rate of no more than 50 hours per week, performed on a part-time or
full-time basis and completed not more than two years prior to the submission
of the application for examination;�
���� (b)�� as an assistant
administrator, having served a minimum of 1,750 working hours as an assistant
administrator in a licensed New Jersey nursing home within the two-year period
immediately prior to the submission of an application; and the administrator
submits documentation to the board, which shall be accepted electronically
through the applicant�s portal, verifying the applicant�s completion of the
requirement for 1,750 experience hours and recommending approval of the
applicant�s license application; or
���� (c)�� with a combination of
educational accomplishment and work experience as shall be set forth in
regulations by the Commissioner of Health that establish qualifications
equivalent to the training requirements set forth above;
���� (5)�� have successfully
completed 100 seminar or course hours in areas relevant to long-term care
administration as determined by the board;
���� (6)�� be of good moral
character as required by section 3 of P.L.1968, c.356 (C.30:11-13); and
���� (7)�� have, within two
years of completing the administrative intern requirement of paragraph 4 of
this subsection and within three years of completing the course hours of
paragraph 5 of this subsection, passed an examination approved by the board for
the licensing of nursing home administrators.
���� c.���� A baccalaureate
degree shall not be required for an individual to serve as an administrative
intern but shall be required before the issuance of a license.
���� d.��� An applicant for
licensure shall undergo a criminal history record background check with
fingerprints pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1968, c.356 and bear all costs of
administering and processing the background check.
���� e.���� An applicant shall
have three opportunities to pass the written examination without being subject
to additional approvals, reporting, training, or educational requirements from
the board.� The board may impose additional requirements upon any applicant who
fails the written examination three times before permitting the applicant to
re-take the written examination.
���� f.���� As used in this
section, �board� means the Nursing Home Administrator�s Licensing Board.
(cf: P.L.1968, c.356, s.2)
���� 2.��� (New section) a. An Administrative
Intern Training (AIT) program may begin upon the submission of an application
that contains the items set forth herein to the board.� All training hours
completed in accordance with the training program after the submission of the
application shall count toward the 1,750 hours, or less as approved by the
board, required regardless of if the hours are completed before the board�s
approval of the application.� Within 45 days of the submission of the
application, the board shall review an AIT program and shall approve the
program if the program complies with the following and is:
���� (1)�� conducted in licensed
New Jersey nursing homes;
���� (2)�� under a preceptor who
meets the qualifications set forth in P.L.��� , .��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill);
���� (3)�� for a period of not more
than 1,750 hours, or less as required by the board after evaluation of an
applicant�s education and experience based upon the requirements contained in
this chapter; and
���� (4)�� with a minimum of 875
hours, or half of the total hours required by the board, served while the
preceptor is on the premises of a nursing home concurrently with the applicant.
���� b.��� An AIT program shall
include at least 70 hours each of administrative experience in the following
required areas:
���� (1)�� administration
management;
���� (2)�� business office
management;
���� (3)�� nursing management;
���� (4)�� management of resident
activities;
���� (5)�� social service
management;
���� (6)�� medical records
management;
���� (7)�� dietary management;
���� (8)�� maintenance management;
and
���� (9)�� environmental management,
including housekeeping and laundry.
���� Additional hours in
non-required service areas shall be at the discretion of the preceptor but
shall be set forth in the training program submitted to the board.� The board
may waive, after review of an individual�s application, some or all of the
hours required to meet the administrative experience requirements set forth in
subsection b. of this section.� An AIT program of 1,750 hours shall be
completed within two years.� If the board requires 875 or fewer total hours
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section, the program shall
be completed within one year.
���� c.���� As used in this
section, �board� means the Nursing Home Administrator�s Licensing Board.
���� 3.��� (New section) a. A
preceptor shall be responsible for supervising and for scheduling hours and
activities for an administrative intern.� A preceptor shall:
���� (1)�� hold a current New
Jersey nursing home administrator license and shall have held such license for
at least five years;
���� (2)�� have practiced as a
licensed nursing home administrator of record in a nursing home for at least
three years; and
���� (3)�� have unlimited access to
the nursing home or homes at which the training program will occur through
employment, oversight, or ownership, including, but not limited to:
���� (a)�� as an employed,
full-time administrator; or
���� (b)�� as a regional
administrator who supports more than one affiliated nursing home within a
multi-facility chain; or
���� (c)�� as a management
executive, such as a chief operating officer or director of operations or
director of administrator education, or such other title as may apply to a
management position that supports a nursing home or affiliated nursing home or
homes within a multi-facility chain; or
���� (d)�� as an individual with
ownership interest in the nursing homes where the training program will occur.
���� b.��� The preceptor shall
notify the board in writing if an administrative intern leaves the program,
there is a change of preceptor, or there is a change in an approved training
program.
���� c.���� The preceptor shall
submit any change in an approved training plan to the board in writing for
reapproval, but any training hours that occur pending the board�s review and
approval of the revised training program shall count towards the trainee�s
hours.
���� d.��� The board shall not
refuse to approve a preceptor for training administrative interns if the
preceptor meets the requirements of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) and maintains a license in good standing.
���� e.���� A licensed nursing home
administrator shall not be a preceptor for more than two administrative interns
at any one time.
���� f.���� As used in this
section, �board� means the Nursing Home Administrator�s Licensing Board.
���� 4.��� (New section) a. Within
six months of the effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill), the board shall accept all required
applications, plans, and reports in an electronic format within an AIT-specific
portal that provides transparency for the applicant to view the date and time
of submission, date and time of review by staff of the board, any requested
revisions, the date and time of supplemental submissions, and the date and time
of approval or denial determinations.
���� b.��� All training hours
completed at any time when the board is reviewing any application, plan, or
report submitted by an applicant or preceptor shall count toward a trainee�s
required training hours.
���� c.���� Repeated and habitual
failure to submit written plans and reports of the training process by the
trainee or the preceptor, as required by the board, shall constitute grounds
for the denial of a nursing home administrator license.
���� d.��� As used in this section,
�board� means the Nursing Home Administrator�s Licensing Board.
���� 5.��� Section 16 of P.L.1968,
c.356 (C.30:11-26) is amended to read as follows:
���� 16.� Any person, firm,
partnership, corporation or association who shall operate or conduct a
convalescent home or private nursing home without first obtaining an
administrator licensed pursuant to the provisions of [this act] P.L.1968,
c.356 (C.30:11-11 et seq.), or who shall operate such convalescent home or
private nursing home after denial, revocation or suspension of its
administrator's license shall be liable to a penalty of [$50.00] $50 for
each day of operation in violation hereof for the first offense, and for any
subsequent offense shall be liable to a penalty of [$100.00] $100 for each day in
violation hereof. �Any such penalty shall be sued for and collected in a
summary proceeding instituted by the Attorney General, at the request and in
the name of the State [Board
of Control]
Department of Health, pursuant to the Penalty Enforcement law (N.J.S.
2A:58-1, et seq.).� The State [Board
of Control]
Department of Health, with the approval of the Attorney General, is
hereby authorized and empowered to compromise and settle claims for money
penalties in appropriate circumstances where it appears to the satisfaction of
the board that payment of the full penalty will work severe hardship on any
individual not having sufficient financial ability to pay the full penalty, but
in no case shall the penalty be compromised for a sum less than [$200.00] $200 for
the first offense and [$500.00] $500 for
the second and each subsequent offense; provided, however, that any penalty of
less than [$200.00] $200 or
[$500.00] $500 as
the case may be, may be compromised for a lesser sum.� Money penalties when
required shall be payable to the General State Fund.� No money penalties
provided for herein shall be required to be paid until the appellate procedures
provided for in the courts shall have been exhausted and then only if on
appeal, it is determined that the licensee was in violation of the provisions
hereof or the rules and regulations of the State [Board of Control] Department
of Health establishing minimum standards for license.� Money penalties
assessed prior to the filing of an appeal to the appellate court or courts
shall be recoverable only to the extent that the appellate court or courts
affirms the decision of the department in the first instance.� Other than as
specifically set forth above, the Department of Health shall not have the
authority to issue monetary penalties against either an applicant for a nursing
home administrator license or a licensee for any reason.
(cf: P.L.1968, c.356, s.16)
���� 6.��� The Commissioner of
Health, in consultation with the Nursing Home Administrator�s Licensing Board,
shall promulgate rules and regulations in advance and consistent with P.L.  ��
 , c.  (C.���    ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill) as shall be necessary to effectuate the purposes of
P.L. �    , c.   (C.        )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill revises the law
related to licensure of nursing home administrators.
���� This bill incorporates
regulations regarding licensure of nursing home administrators promulgated by
the Department of Health (department) into State law.� The bill requires the
department to establish a portal specific for nursing home administrators and
administrators in training and incorporates the application requirements for
licensure as a nursing home administrator from chapter 34 of Title 8 of the New
Jersey Annotated Code.
���� The bill also establishes the
Administrative Intern Training (AIT) program and provides that the Nursing Home
Administrator�s Licensing Board (board) to approve training programs in
accordance with section 3 of this bill.� Section 4 of this bill sets
requirements for the preceptor of the AIT program.� The preceptor will be
responsible for supervising and for scheduling hours and activities for the
administrative intern.� The preceptor is required to:
�
hold a current New Jersey nursing home administrator license and
have held such license for five years;
�
have practiced as a licensed nursing home administrator of record
in a nursing home for at least three years; and
�
have unlimited access to the nursing home or homes where the
training program will take place.
���� Additionally, the preceptor
would be required to notify the board if an intern leaves the program, there is
a change in the preceptor, or there is a change in the approved plan.� The
changes are to be submitted to the board in writing and the board is to approve
any changes.� A preceptor may not train more than two interns at any one time.�
���� An applicant who qualifies to
take the written examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator will
have three opportunities to pass the written examination without being subject
to additional approvals, reporting, training, or educational requirements from
the board.
���� The bill also revises the
penalty section at N.J.S.A.30:11-26 to clarify that only the monetary penalties
specifically authorized by N.J.S.A.30:11-26 may be imposed. �