Establishes "Farm Mental Health and Financial Services Task Force."

A4381

ASSEMBLY, No. 4381

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Assemblywoman� HEATHER SIMMONS

District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes �Farm Mental Health and Financial
Services Task Force.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning mental health and financial services for
farmers and persons working on farms, and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised
Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� a.� There is established
a task force to be known as the �Farm Mental Health and Financial Services Task
Force.�� The purpose of the task force shall be to develop and maintain a list
of mental health and financial assistance services for farm owners and
operators, farm supervisors, and farm laborers in order to provide:

���� (1) support for their mental
and psychological well-being; and

���� (2) financial services to
navigate the business and financial challenges of farm life that contribute to
stress and affect mental and psychological well-being.

���� b.� The task force shall
consist of five members, including the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Commissioner of Health, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio, and
three public members to be appointed by the Governor, as follows:

���� (1) one public member who is a
representative of a farmer advocacy group;

���� (2) one public member who is a
representative of a Statewide banking association active in agricultural
communities, and who either has experience in providing financial services, or
a firm understanding of the financial services available, to farmers and other
persons working on farms in the State; and

���� (3) one public member who is a
representative of a Statewide mental health advocacy group, who is familiar
with the mental health providers and services that are available to provide
counseling and other mental health assistance to farmers and other persons working
on farms in the State.

���� c.� Each public member of the
task force, appointed pursuant to subsection b. of this section, shall serve a
term of three years, except that, of the three public members first appointed
pursuant to subsection b. of this section, one shall serve an initial term of
one year, one shall serve an initial term of two years, and one shall serve an
initial term of three years.� Vacancies in the task force membership shall be
filled in the same manner provided for the initial appointments, and a public
member may be reappointed to the task force following the expiration of the
member�s term.

���� d.� The members of the task
force shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, within the limits of
funds appropriated or otherwise made available for the task force�s purposes.

���� 2.��� a. �The task force shall
organize, at the call of the Governor, within 45 days after the appointment of its
members, and shall select a chairperson from among its three public members.� Thereafter,
the task force shall meet at the call of the chairperson.

���� b.� The Department of
Agriculture and the Department of Health shall provide professional and
clerical staff to the task force as may be necessary for its purposes.� The task
force shall also be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the
services of the employees of any other State department, board, bureau,
commission, or agency, as it may require and as may be available for its
purposes, and to employ a secretary or other appropriate staff member, who need
not be a member of the task force, to provide the task force with stenographic
and clerical assistance.

���� c.� Three members of the task
force shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of official business.

���� 3.��� a.� No later than 180
days after the task force�s initial organizational meeting, the task force
shall:

���� (1) develop and publicize a
list of mental health and financial assistance services for farm owners and
operators, farm supervisors, and farm laborers, as well as information on the
types and nature of services available to such individuals in the State and the
manner in which the services may be accessed thereby; and

���� (2) study the means and
methods that have been used by other states and jurisdictions to facilitate and
improve the mental health and financial stability of farmers and other farm
workers in those jurisdictions, and develop recommendations for executive, legislative,
and other appropriate actions that could be undertaken to better address these
issues in New Jersey.�

���� b.� The list of mental health
and financial assistance services developed pursuant to subsection h. of this
section, at a minimum, shall include the available services identified by the
task force to date that may bolster the mental and psychological well-being of
farmers and other persons who own, operate, or work on farms in the State, or
that provide financial assistance, education, or information to enable such
persons to successfully navigate the business and financial challenges of farm
life that may contribute to stress and affect their mental and psychological
well-being.

���� c.� The list of mental health
and financial assistance services developed pursuant to subsection a. of this
section shall be posted in a publicly accessible location on the Internet
websites of both the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health,
and shall be regularly maintained, updated, and expanded by the task force, at
least once every 180 days thereafter, as necessary to ensure that it continues
to contain the most up-to-date service information.� Following the online
publication of the list, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of
Health shall issue periodic public service announcements, each year, to alert
the public of the availability of the list.

���� 4.� No later than three years
after the task force�s initial organizational meeting, and on at least a
triennial basis thereafter, the task force shall issue a report to the Governor
and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the
Legislature, summarizing the work undertaken by the task force during the
reporting period, describing the impact the task force has had on the mental,
psychological, and financial well-being of farmers and other persons who own,
operate, or work on farms in the State, providing recommendations regarding the
need for continued task force operations, and providing recommendations for
executive, legislative, and other actions that the task force deems beneficial
to, or appropriate to support, the mental and psychological well-being of
farmers and other persons who own, operate, or work on farms in the State.

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

STATEMENT

���� The bill establishes a task
force to be known as the �Farm Mental Health and Financial Services Task
Force.�� The purpose of the task force would be to develop and maintain a list
of mental health and financial assistance services for farm owners and
operators, farm supervisors, and farm laborers to bolster the mental and
psychological well-being of farmers and persons who own, operate, or work on
farms and provide financial services to enable these persons to navigate the
business and financial challenges of farm life that may contribute to stress
and deteriorating mental and psychological well-being.

���� The five member task force would
consist of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Commissioner of Health, and three
public members, appointed by the Governor, including: 1) a representative of a
farmer advocacy group; 2) a representative of a Statewide banking association
active in agricultural communities, who has experience in providing financial
services, or has a firm understanding of the financial services available, to
farmers and other persons working on farms; and 3) a representative of a
Statewide mental health advocacy group, who is familiar with the mental health
providers and services that are available to provide counseling and other
mental health assistance to farmers and other persons working on farms in the
State.

���� The task force would be
required to develop and publicize a list of mental health and financial
assistance services that are available to farm owners and operators, farm
supervisors, and farm laborers in the State, and provide associated information
on the types and nature of available services and the manner in which such
services may be accessed.� The task force would be required to post the list of
available services on the Department of Agriculture and the Department of
Health websites, and thereafter, maintain and update the list every 180 days to
ensure that it contains the most up-to-date information.� After the online
publication of the list the Department of Agriculture and the Department of
Health would be required to broadcast periodic public service announcements,
each year, to alert the public to the availability of the list.

���� The task force would be
required to issue a report, to the Governor and the Legislature, no later than
three years after the task force�s initial organizational meeting, and at least
every three years thereafter, summarizing the work undertaken by the task force
during the reporting period, describing the impact the task force has had on
the mental, psychological, and financial well-being of farmers and persons who
own, operate, or work on farms, providing recommendations for the continuation
of task force operations in future years, and providing recommendations for
executive, legislative, and other actions that are deemed by the task force to
be beneficial to, or appropriate to support, the mental and psychological
well-being of farmers and persons who own, operate, or work on farms in the
State.

���� The rate of
suicide among farmers is three and a half times higher than among the general
population, according to the National Rural Health Association. �Suicide rates
in rural communities increased by 48 percent between the years 2000 and 2018,
compared with 34 percent in urban areas.