March 2024
No significant changes since the February 2024 Report below. There has been no action on any of the bills mentioned in that report. There are 105 bills which come up on a “senior citizens” category search, having to do with tax relief or deductions, medical care, insurance and inspections, scams and other crimes against seniors, transportation, backup generators, and waiver of hunting, fishing and trapping license fees, among other subjects.
February 2024
Rick Ober, Chair, Legislative Action and Advocacy Committee
ORANJ AND LEADING AGE NJ&DE opposed bills in 2023 which would require CCRCs to refund any refundable contract amounts within 12 months after the resident departed. There have been a number of CCRCs which have gotten into financial difficulty, especially due to COVID, and this requirement could cause more to do so. The current sequential law passed in 2018 where all such new deposits are put into a single pot and paid out in order of departure seems to be working well. One of these bills passed the Assembly but was not voted on in the Senate before the legislative session expired. However, similar bills were introduced in the new session by:
- Assemblywoman Munoz A1031 < Fellowship Village, Lantern Hill
- Assemblywoman Garnet Hall A1702 < Winchester Gardens
We would encourage residents of Fellowship Village, Lantern hill, and Winchester Gardens to communicate their opposition to these bills to their Assemblywoman and ask her to withdraw her bill.
Contact information for Munoz and Hall can be found from the links above.
Contact information for all lobbying efforts is at: https://oranjccrc.org/oranj-legislation/legislative-contacts-2024/
A fuller explanation of ORANJ’s opposition can be found here: https://oranjccrc.org/legislation/2022-refundable-contracts/
Please feel free to cut and paste information from that page in your message to your Assemblywoman.
Bills similar to those supported by ORANJ in the prior legislative session have been reintroduced:
- A2284 Sponsor: Lopez, Yvonne. Increases Medicaid reimbursement rates for private duty nursing services by $4.
- ACR58 Sponsor: Murphy, Carol A. Increases amount of veterans’ property tax deduction from $250 to $2,500.
- ACR85 Sponsor: Bergen, Brian. Increases amount of annual veterans’ property tax deduction from $250 to $1,250.
- SCR24 Sponsor: Holzapfel, James W. Increases amount of annual veterans’ property tax deduction from $250 to $1,250.
- SCR81 Sponsor: Singleton, Troy. Proposes constitutional amendment to increase amount of veterans’ property tax deduction from $250 to $2,500.
We will do our best to “track” state legislation and alert you to critical issues.