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S3903
SENATE, No. 3903
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 12, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes �Planning for an Aging Population Task
Force.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing
a temporary task force to study and
propose a plan of action to address potential concerns associated with the
growth of the State�s aging population.�
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.�� There is
established the �Planning for an Aging Population Task Force.�� The purpose of
the task force shall be to study and identify concerns related to the growth of
the State�s aging population, and develop and recommend a plan of action that
is designed to prepare and enable the State to appropriately respond to the
ongoing growth in this population and ensure that senior citizens in New Jersey
continue to have sufficient access to necessary programs, services, and
supports in both the near and long-term future.�
���� b.��� The Planning for an
Aging Population Task Force shall consist of 23 members, including 16 ex
officio members or their designees, as provided in paragraph (1) of this
subsection, and seven public members, as provided in paragraph (2) of this
subsection.�
���� (1)�� The 16 ex officio
members of the task force shall include the following persons, or their
designees:� the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner of Human Services, the
New Jersey Long Term Care Ombudsman, the President of the New Jersey Health
Care Quality Institute, the Director of the Division of Aging Services in the
Department of Human Services, the Director of the Office of Minority and
Multicultural Health in the Department of Health, the Director of the Division
of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services,
the Director of the Office of Area Agencies on Aging Administration in the
Department of Human Services, the Director of the Office of the Public Guardian
for the Elderly in the Department of Human Services, the President of the New
Jersey chapter of the AARP, the Executive Director of the National Alliance on
Mental Illness New Jersey, the Executive Director of Disability Rights New
Jersey, the President of the Home Care and Hospice Association of New Jersey,
the President of LeadingAge New Jersey, the President of the Alzheimer�s
Association Greater New Jersey Chapter, and the Executive Director of
Caregivers of New Jersey.
���� (2)�� The seven public members
of the task force shall be appointed by the Governor, and shall include one
representative from a local office on aging in each of the northern, central,
and southern regions of the State; two senior citizens who are 65 years of age
or older; and two caregivers of senior citizens who are 65 years of age or
older.
���� c.���� Vacancies in the
membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner provided for
the original appointments.
���� d.��� The task force shall organize
as soon as practicable, but not later than the 30th day following the appointment
of its members.� Upon its organization, the task force shall select a
chairperson from among its membership, and the chairperson shall appoint a
secretary, who need not be a member of the task force.�
���� e.���� The task force may meet
and hold hearings at the times and places it may designate, but shall hold at
least one hearing in each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the
State.� The task force may conduct business without a quorum, but may only vote
on recommendations when a quorum is present.�
���� f.���� The members of the task
force shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and
other miscellaneous expenses incurred in the necessary performance of their
duties, within the limits of funds made available to the task force for its purposes.
���� g.��� The task force shall be
entitled to receive assistance and services from any State, county, or
municipal department, board, commission, or agency, as it may require, and as
may be available to it for its purposes.� The task force shall further be authorized
to consult with, and receive testimony from, any association, organization,
department, or individual having knowledge of, or experience with, issues
related to aging, or matters affecting senior citizens or their caregivers.�
���� h.��� The Department of Human
Services shall provide professional and clerical staff to the task force, as
may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.�
���� i.���� The task force may
solicit, receive, and expend any grant moneys or other funds that may be made
available for its purposes by any government agency or any private for-profit
or not-for-profit organization or entity.
���� 2.��� a.�� The Planning for an
Aging Population Task Force shall have the duty to:�
���� (1)�� Analyze population data,
demographic data, and other appropriate data points for New Jersey to:� (a)
identify the current number, percentage, location, and density of senior
citizens residing in the State; and (b) estimate the extent to which the senior
citizen population in New Jersey will grow or otherwise change in the near to
long-term future;
���� (2)�� Identify, and compile an
inventory of, existing State, local, and non-profit resources, programs, and
services that are available to senior citizens in the State;
���� (3)�� Analyze the nature and
severity of illnesses or conditions commonly suffered by senior citizens in the
State, and evaluate the State�s capacity to timely and humanely provide
physical and mental health care, including home health care, and other necessary
services to a growing population of senior citizens suffering from such
ailments;�
���� (4)�� Consult with, and
solicit and review information and data maintained by, the Department of Labor
and the Department of Community Affairs, as may be necessary to identify the
potential impacts on the State�s labor and housing markets that may result from
the ongoing growth of the State�s aging population.� The Departments of Labor
and Community Affairs shall provide the task force with any information or data
requested thereby for the purposes of this paragraph;
���� (5)�� Solicit and receive
testimony from senior citizens and the caregivers of senior citizens, from
health care professionals and other service providers, and from representatives
of relevant organizations, associations, and executive departments, on the following
topics:� (a) the nature, extent, quality, accessibility, and sufficiency of
home health care, telemedicine-based health services, and other physical and
mental health care services, day programs and other community-based programs
and services, nursing home care, hospice care, and other long-term health care
services, social service programs and benefits programs, personal caregiver
services, non-institutional housing and independent senior living
opportunities, and transportation services that are currently available for
senior citizens in the State, and the ways in which such programs, services,
and housing can be modified, expanded, or improved to accommodate the growing
aging population; (b) the personal financial costs associated with aging,
including, but not limited to, the loss or expenditure of income associated
with retirement from the workforce or the death of an income-earning spouse,
the loss or expenditure of income and assets required for senior citizens to
receive financial, nutritional, or other federal or State benefits, the
out-of-pocket costs expended by senior citizens in association with the ongoing
receipt of physical and mental health care, including home-based care, nursing
home or other institutional care, and personal care; (c) the costs to the
State, and the impacts to State and local policies, procedures, methodologies,
and labor, housing, and other markets that may result from the ongoing growth
of the aging population; and (d) any other topic that is relevant to the task
force�s work; and
���� (6)�� Develop and propose a
Statewide plan of action that will enable the State to proactively address the
problems and concerns identified by the task force and be better prepared to
effectively, efficiently, and humanely serve the growing aging population in
New Jersey in both the near and long-term future.��
���� b.��� (1)�� Not later than 18
months after the task force is organized pursuant to section 2 of this act, it
shall prepare and submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, a written report of
its findings and recommendations relating to the growth of the aging population
in the State and the problems that may result from this growing population, and
a copy of the Statewide plan of action that has been proposed by the task force
pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection a. of this section.�
���� (2)�� The written report
submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include, at a
minimum, the following information:� (a) depersonalized statistical data
indicating the total number, percentage, regional location, and residential
density of senior citizens currently residing in the State; (b) estimated
projections indicating the extent to which the State�s aging population is
likely to grow, and the specific regions of the State that are likely to
experience the largest amount of growth in the aging population, in both the
near and long-term future; (c) a description of the nature and sufficiency of
federal, State, and local programs and services that are currently available to
address the health care, social service, housing, labor, and transportation
needs of senior citizens in New Jersey, and the capacity of such existing
programs and services to adapt to and accommodate prospective growth in the
aging population; (d) a description of the financial and other limitations that
may prevent the State from providing adequate programs and services to the
growing population of senior citizens in both the near and long-term future;
(e) a description of the concerns, and any potential solutions to those
concerns, that were elucidated by the task force in testimony received under
paragraph (5) of subsection a. of this section; (f) a description of how the
State�s labor and housing markets will be affected by rapid growth in the aging
population; and (g) recommendations for legislation or regulatory or
programmatic changes that would be necessary to implement the task force�s
recommended plan of action to address the issues that may be associated with
the continued growth of the aging population in the State.�
���� c.���� The task force shall
dissolve on the 30th day following the submission of its written report and
proposed plan of action prepared pursuant to this section.
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately, and shall expire on the 30th day following the submission
of the task force�s written report and proposed plan of action to the Governor
and the Legislature, as provided by section 2 of this act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would establish the
�Planning for an Aging Population Task Force.�� The purpose of the task force
would be to study and identify concerns related to the growth of the State�s
aging population, and develop and recommend a plan of action that is designed
to prepare and enable the State to appropriately respond to the ongoing growth
in this population and ensure that senior citizens in New Jersey continue to
have sufficient access to necessary programs, services, and supports in both
the near and long-term future.�
���� The Planning for an Aging
Population Task Force will consist of 23 members, including 16 ex officio
members or their designees, and seven public members, each of whom will have
experience and expertise in issues related to aging.�
���� The task force may meet and
hold hearings at the times and places it may designate, but will be required to
hold at least one hearing in each of the northern, central, and southern
regions of the State.�
���� The Planning for an Aging
Population Task Force will have the duty to:�
���� 1)��� Analyze population data,
demographic data, and other appropriate data points for New Jersey to:�
identify the current number, percentage, location, and density of senior
citizens residing in the State, and estimate the extent to which the senior
citizen population in New Jersey will grow or otherwise change in the near to
long-term future;
���� 2)��� Identify, and compile an
inventory of, existing State, local, and non-profit resources, programs, and
services that are available to senior citizens in the State;
���� 3)��� Analyze the nature and
severity of illnesses or conditions commonly suffered by senior citizens in the
State, and evaluate the State�s capacity to timely and humanely provide
physical and mental health care, including home health care, and other necessary
services to a growing population of senior citizens suffering from such
ailments;�
���� 4)��� Consult with, and
solicit and review information and data maintained by, the Department of Labor
and the Department of Community Affairs, as may be necessary to identify the
potential impacts on the State�s labor and housing markets that may result from
the ongoing growth of the State�s aging population.� The Departments of Labor
and Community Affairs shall provide the task force with any information or data
requested thereby for the purposes of this paragraph;
���� 5)��� Solicit and receive
testimony from senior citizens and the caregivers of senior citizens, from
health care professionals and other service providers, and from representatives
of relevant organizations, associations, and executive departments, on topics related
to aging; and
���� 6)��� Develop and propose a
Statewide plan of action that will enable the State to proactively address the
problems and concerns identified by the task force and be better prepared to
effectively, efficiently, and humanely serve the growing aging population in
New Jersey in both the near and long-term future.��
���� Not later than 18 months after
the task force is organized, it will be required to prepare and submit to the
Governor and the Legislature: 1) a written report of its findings and
recommendations relating to the growth of the aging population in the State and
the problems that may result from this growing population; and 2) a copy of the
Statewide plan of action that has been proposed by the task force.� The task
force will dissolve on the 30th day following the submission of the written
report and proposed plan of action.��