Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman L. GRACE SPENCER
District 29 (Essex)
Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER
District 28 (Essex)
Assemblyman ERIC HOUGHTALING
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Jones, Assemblyman Caputo, Assemblywoman Jimenez, Assemblyman Coughlin and Assemblywoman Downey
SYNOPSIS
Provides for notification of emergency contact in event of death of senior citizen in certain housing facilities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning seniors in certain housing facilities and supplementing chapter 42 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. An administrator shall establish and implement procedures for the collection of emergency contact information for senior citizen occupants, which information shall be used to provide notice in the event of the death of a senior citizen occupant.
b. The procedures required by subsection a. of this section shall include the provision of notice to, and opportunity for, each current and prospective senior citizen occupant to provide, and update as necessary, emergency contact information to enable the administrator to notify the emergency contact in the event of the death of the senior citizen occupant.
c. Upon learning of the death of a senior citizen occupant, an administrator shall notify the emergency contact for that senior citizen occupant as soon as is practicable, but no later than 24 hours thereafter. An administrator who fails to provide notice as required pursuant to this subsection shall be liable to a civil penalty of $500, which may be collected and enforced by the Commissioner of Community Affairs, the Attorney General, or any other person pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The municipal court and the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for the enforcement of the penalties provided by this subsection.
d. The Commissioner of Community Affairs, in consultation with the Commissioners of Health and Human Services, may adopt regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), regulating the collection of emergency contact information and the notification of an emergency contact as required pursuant to this section.
e. As used in this section:
“Administrator” means the person responsible for the daily administration and operation of a qualified housing facility.
“Qualified housing facility” means any of the following: a rooming or boarding house licensed pursuant to the "Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979," P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-1 et al.); a residential health care facility, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home licensed pursuant to the "Health Care Facilities Planning Act," P.L.1971 c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.); a continuing care retirement community operating under a certificate of authority issued pursuant to the "Continuing Care Retirement Community Regulation and Financial Disclosure Act," P.L.1986, c.103 (C.52:27D-330 et seq.); and public housing designated for seniors that is owned by a housing authority created or continued pursuant to the "Local Redevelopment and Housing Law," P.L.1992, c.79 (C.40A:12A-1 et seq.).
“Senior citizen occupant” means a person 62 years of age or older who resides in a qualified housing facility.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment, except the Commissioner of Community Affairs may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would require administrators of qualified housing facilities to establish and implement procedures for the collection of emergency contact information of a person to be notified in the event of the death of a senior citizen residing in the housing facility. These procedures would have to include the provision of notice to, and opportunity for, a senior citizen who is a prospective or current occupant of a qualified housing facility to provide, and update as necessary, emergency contact information, so that the administrator can notify the emergency contact, if one is designated, in the event of the death of the senior citizen occupant. Upon learning of the death of a senior citizen occupant, an administrator would have to notify the appropriate emergency contact as soon as is practicable, but no later than 24 hours thereafter, or else be liable to a $500 civil penalty. The bill authorizes the Commissioner of Community Affairs to adopt regulations that would govern the procedures for emergency contact notification under the bill.
The bill defines "qualified housing facility" as any rooming house, boarding house, residential health care facility, assisted living facility, nursing home, continuing care retirement community, and public housing designated for seniors. "Senior citizen occupant" is defined as a person 62 years of age or older who resides in a qualified housing facility.