Full Notification

ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 2095
(Second Reprint)
To the General Assembly:
Pursuant to Article V, Section I, Paragraph 14 of the New
Jersey Constitution, I am returning Assembly Bill No. 2095
(Second Reprint) with my recommendations for reconsideration.
This legislation would make significant changes to our
Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”) system. In particular, under
the bill, the Office of Emergency Medical Services in the
Department of Health and Senior Services (“DHSS”) would serve as
the lead State agency for the oversight of EMS delivery in the
State. DHSS would be responsible for licensing all EMS
personnel, agencies providing pre-hospital and inter-facility
care, and emergency medical vehicles used throughout the State.
The bill would also make changes to the various boards that
advise the Commissioner of DHSS with respect to New Jersey’s EMS
system.
While this legislation is well-intentioned and suggests
several potential changes that seek to create a more coherent
regulatory structure for the State’s EMS system, I am advised
that implementation of the requirements and commitments provided
for in the bill would cost the State and municipalities across
the State millions of dollars.
The New Jersey Constitution calls for a single
appropriation law for each fiscal year. The cost commitments
that would be required by this bill should not be considered
piece meal, but rather as part of the budget process. While I
recognize the need for evaluating our EMS delivery system in
order to improve service and accountability, I am acutely aware
of the fact that our volunteers, who have served under the
current statutory and regulatory scheme for several decades,
provide critical services to the citizens of New Jersey and have
done so for well over 100 years. While this bill is an
important step in highlighting the need for certain improvements
in our EMS system, the changes in this bill raise a multitude of
new issues that need to be thoughtfully considered before our
current system of emergency care is disturbed. Therefore, I
recommend that the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services
undertake a review of the State’s existing emergency medical
services, and the changes proposed in this bill, and develop
findings and recommendations on how New Jersey can more
efficiently and effectively upgrade our EMS delivery system and
report directly to me no later than six months after the
enactment of this bill. In particular, I recommend that the
Commissioner examine the impact of, and make recommendations on, the changes proposed by this bill as they relate to the
following areas : property taxes; volunteerism; background
checks; disqualifying convictions; licensure versus
certification; the fiscal impact to the State budget; technology
upgrades; and opportunities for regionalization or shared
services.
Any changes to our emergency medical services system raise
important issues that should be responsibly and carefully
considered. My recommendations will ensure the proper attention
to consider any alterations, and preserves our State’s tradition
of outstanding and exemplary emergency care.
Accordingly, I herewith return Assembly Bill No. 2095
(Second Reprint) and recommend that it be amended as follows:
Page 2, Title, Lines 2-3: After “Statutes” delete “and
revising various parts of
the statutory law”
Page 2, Section 1, Line 8: Delete “Section 1 of
P.L.1984, c. 146 (C.26:2K-7)
is amended to read” and
insert “The Commissioner of
Health and Senior Services
shall undertake a review of
New Jersey’s emergency
medical services delivery
system and shall report any
findings and recommendations
directly to the Governor no
later than 6 months from the
date of enactment of this
act. Specifically, the
Commissioner shall examine
the impact of, and make
recommendations on, the
following areas: property
taxes; volunteerism;
background checks;
disqualifying convictions;
licensure versus
certification; the fiscal
impact to the State budget;
technology upgrades; and
opportunities for
regionalization or shared
services.”
Page 2, Section 1, Lines 9-42: Delete in their entirety
Page 3, Section 1, Lines 1-45: Delete in their entirety
Page 4, Section 1, Lines 1-37: Delete in their entirety
Page 4, Section 2, Lines 39-44: Delete in their entirety
Page 5, Section 2, Lines 1-38: Delete in their entirety
Page 5, Section 3, Lines 40-45: Delete in their entirety
Page 6, Section 3, Lines 1-2: Delete in their entirety
Page 6, Section 4, Lines 4-22: Delete in their entirety
Page 6, Section 5, Lines 24-46: Delete in their entirety
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Page 7, Section 6, Lines 11-48: Delete in their entirety
Page 8, Section 6, Lines 1-40: Delete in their entirety
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Page 9, Section 7, Lines 1-39: Delete in their entirety
Page 9, Section 8, Lines 41-48: Delete in their entirety
Page 10, Section 8, Lines 1-11: Delete in their entirety
Page 10, Section 9, Lines 13-27: Delete in their entirety
Page 10, Section 10, Lines 29-42: Delete in their entirety
Page 10, Section 11, Lines 44-47: Delete in their entirety
Page 11, Section 11, Lines 1-9: Delete in their entirety
Page 11, Section 12, Lines 11-21: Delete in their entirety
Page 11, Section 13, Lines 23-48: Delete in their entirety
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Page 13, Section 14, Lines 24-40: Delete in their entirety
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Page 20, Section 23, Lines 26-46: Delete in their entirety
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Page 21, Section 24, Lines 14-37: Delete in their entirety
Page 21, Section 25, Lines 39-47: Delete in their entirety
Page 22, Section 25, Lines 1-9: Delete in their entirety
Page 23, Section 26, Lines 38-48: Delete in their entirety
Page 24, Section 26, Lines 1-27: Delete in their entirety
Page 24, Section 27, Lines 29-46: Delete in their entirety
Page 25, Section 27, Lines 1-3: Delete in their entirety
Page 25, Section 28, Lines 5-38: Delete in their entirety
Page 26, Section 29, Lines 20-31: Delete in their entirety
Page 26, Section 30, Line 33: Delete “30.” and insert “2.”
Page 26, Section 30, Line 33: After “effect” delete “on
the 180th day after” and
insert “immediately.”
Page 26, Section 30, Lines 34-36: Delete in their entirety
Respectfully,
[seal] /s/ Chris Christie
Governor
Attest:
/s/ Kevin M. O’Dowd
Deputy Chief Counsel to the Governor