Extends regulatory power of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to senior housing.

A2121

ASSEMBLY, No. 2121

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Extends regulatory power of State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman to senior housing.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and
senior housing, and amending P.L.1977, c.239.

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

���� 1. Section 5 of PL.1977, c.239
(C.52:27G-5) is amended to read as follows:

���� 5.��� The ombudsman, as
administrator and chief executive officer of the office, shall:

���� a.��� Administer and organize
the work of the office and establish therein such administrative subdivisions
as necessary, proper, and expedient.� He or she may formulate and adopt rules
and regulations and prescribe duties for the efficient conduct of the business,
work, and general administration of the office.� He or she may delegate to
subordinate officers or employees in the office such power as may be desirable
to be exercised under his or her supervision and control;

���� b.��� Appoint and remove such
stenographic, clerical, and other secretarial assistants as may be required for
the proper conduct of the office, subject to the provisions of Title 11 (Civil
Service) of the Revised Statutes, and other applicable statutes, and within the
limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available therefor.� In
addition, and within such funding limits, the ombudsman may appoint, retain, or
employ, without regard to the provisions of the said Title 11 (Civil Service),
or any other statutes, such officers, investigators, experts, consultants, or
other professionally qualified personnel on a contract basis or otherwise as
necessary.

���� c.��� Appoint and employ,
notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.1944, c.20 (C.52:17A-1 et seq.), a
general counsel and such other attorneys or counsel as he or she may require,
for the purpose, among other things, of providing legal advice on such matters
as the ombudsman may from time to time require, of attending to and dealing
with all litigation, controversies, and legal matters in which the office may
be a party or in which its rights and interests may be involved, and of
representing the office in all proceedings or actions of any kind which may be
brought for or against it in any court of this State.� With respect to all of
the foregoing, such counsel and attorneys shall be independent of any
supervision or control by the Attorney General or by the Department of Law and
Public Safety, or by any division or officer thereof;

���� d.��� Have authority to adopt
and promulgate pursuant to law such rules and regulations as necessary to carry
out the purposes of this act;

���� e.��� Maintain suitable
headquarters for the office and such other quarters as necessary to the proper
functioning of the office;

���� f.���� Solicit and accept
grants of funds from the federal government and from other public and any
private sources for any of the purposes of this act; provided, however, that
any such funds shall be expended only pursuant to an� appropriation made by
law;

���� g.��� Perform such other
functions as may be prescribed in this act or by any other law; and

���� h.��� Establish, in
consultation with the Department of Health, an annual long-term care training
program in a manner to be determined by the ombudsman.� At a minimum, the
program shall address the following subjects:� the rights of residents of
long-term care facilities; fostering choice and independence among residents of
long-term care facilities; identifying and reporting abuse, neglect, or
exploitation of residents of long-term care facilities; long-term care facility
ownership; updates on State and federal guidelines, laws, and regulations that
pertain to long-term care facilities; and issues, trends, and policies that
impact the rights of long-term care residents.� The annual training program
shall be completed by the ombudsman's investigative and advocacy staff, the
ombudsman's volunteer advocates, and Department of Health long-term care
facility surveyors, inspectors, and complaint investigators.� Subject to the
availability of staff and funding, the training program shall be offered to
residents of long-term care facilities, those residents' family members,
advocacy organizations, government agencies, and long-term care facility
employees.� To develop and implement the training program, the ombudsman may
contract or consult with a non-profit organization that possesses expertise on
the rights of residents in long-term care settings.

����
i. Elicit, receive,
process, respond to, and resolve complaints involving the abuse or exploitation
of an elderly person who resides in an age-restricted development.� As used in
this subsection, "age-restricted development" means a community that
complies with the "housing for older persons" exception from the
federal "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," Pub.L.100-430 (42
U.S.C. ss.3601 et seq.) for that community as set forth in section 100.301 of
Title 24, Code of Federal Regulations.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.294, s.1)

���� 2. This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill extends the
regulatory power of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to senior housing.

���� The bill amends current law to
require the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to elicit, receive, process, respond
to, and resolve complaints involving the abuse or exploitation of elderly
persons who reside in age-restricted developments.�

���� The bill defines
"age-restricted development" to mean a community that complies with
the "housing for older persons" exception from the federal "Fair
Housing Amendments Act of 1988," Pub.L.100-430 (42 U.S.C. ss.3601 et seq.)
for that community as set forth in section 100.301 of Title 24, Code of Federal
Regulations.