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A1644 • 2026

Prohibits child care providers from charging any fees for service on days when providers are unable to provide child care services due to contraction of, or exposure to, COVID-19.

Prohibits child care providers from charging any fees for service on days when providers are unable to provide child care services due to contraction of, or exposure to, COVID-19.

Children
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Kane, Melinda
Last action
2026-01-13
Official status
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Prohibits child care providers from charging any fees for service on days when providers are unable to provide child care services due to contraction of, or exposure to, COVID-19.

Prohibits child care providers from charging any fees for service on days when providers are unable to provide child care services due to contraction of, or exposure to, COVID-19.

What This Bill Does

  • Prohibits child care providers from charging any fees for service on days when providers are unable to provide child care services due to contraction of, or exposure to, COVID-19.
  • Topic: Children, Families and Food Security Fiscal note: This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-13 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee

Official Summary Text

Prohibits child care providers from charging any fees for service on days when providers are unable to provide child care services due to contraction of, or exposure to, COVID-19.
Topic:
Children, Families and Food Security
Fiscal note:
This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
A1644

ASSEMBLY, No. 1644

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman MELINDA KANE

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits child care providers from charging any fees
for service on days when providers are unable to provide child care services
due to contraction of, or exposure to, COVID-19.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning child care providers and supplementing Title
30 of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.� a.� Notwithstanding any
law or regulation to the contrary, a child care provider shall be prohibited
from charging a parent any fees for child care services on days when the
provider or an assistant provider, substitute provider, alternate provider, or
other employee of the provider is unable to provide such services due to contraction
of, or exposure to, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

���� b.� As used in this act,
�child care provider� means a child care provider operating a facility licensed
pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-1 et seq.) or a family
day care provider registered pursuant to P.L 1987, c. 27 (C.30:5B-16).

���� 2.� A child care provider who,
prior to enactment of P.L.��� , c.��� (pending before the Legislature as this
bill), charged a parent any fees for child care services on days when the
provider or an assistant provider, substitute provider, alternate provider, or
other employee of the provider was unable to provide such services due to contraction
of, or exposure to, COVID-19 shall reimburse that parent in the amount equal to
the fees the provider charged the parent.

���� 3.� This act shall take effect
immediately and section 2 of this act shall be retroactive to December 1, 2021.

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits a child
care provider from charging a parent any fees for child care services on days
when the provider or an assistant provider, substitute provider, alternate
provider, or other employee of the provider is unable to provide such services
due to contraction of, or exposure to, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

���� As defined in the bill, �child
care provider� means a child care provider operating a facility licensed
pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-1 et seq.) or a family
day care provider registered pursuant to P.L 1987, c. 27 (C.30:5B-16).

���� The bill further stipulates
that, prior to its enactment and retroactive to December 1, 2021, if a child
care provider charged a parent any fees for child care services on days when
the provider or an assistant provider, substitute provider, alternate provider,
or other employee of the provider was unable to provide such services due to contraction
of, or exposure to, COVID-19, the provider is to reimburse that parent in the
amount equal to the fees the provider charged the parent.