Chris Christie Signs 22 Bills Into Law, Including New Health Care Rules; Vetoes 4 Others

Gov. Chris Christie signed 22 bills into law Thursday, including new health care legislation, while vetoing four others. (see list below).

Christie signed legislation sponsored by Republican Assemblywoman Nancy F. Muñoz to protect health care personnel who handle hazardous chemotherapy drugs.

“Cancer treatment often consists of a combination of chemo drugs, which are very potent. These powerful drugs may expose workers to a number of serious short-term and chronic effects,” said Muñoz, R-Union. “Providing potentially lifesaving medicine and comfort to cancer patients is very rewarding, but can be emotionally stressful. Health care professionals don’t need the added burden of worrying about adverse effects from the drugs they are administering. They deserve a safe work environment.”

The bill (A837/S468), the “Hazardous Drug Safe Handling Act,” requires the state commissioner of health, the director of Consumer Affairs and a stakeholder group, including a NJ State Society of Physician Assistants representative, to establish rules and regulations for the safe handling of chemotherapy drugs by health care personnel. That includes employees in a health care setting, including pharmacies, or an animal or veterinary facility.

This also includes physicians, physician’s assistants, nurses and pharmacists. The regulations will follow the most recent recommendations of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the CDC.

Christie also signed legislation that's supposed to ensure that the state does not limit access to health care treatment. The new law (A-4146) was prompted by the state’s decision to begin transitioning most community-based health care treatment services from a cost reimbursement system to a fee-for-service reimbursement system this past summer, according to the bill's sponsors.

Christie said the bill requires the establishment of two oversight boards to monitor the state’s transition to a Medicaid-based fee-for-service reimbursement model for mental health and substance use disorder treatment services, and for community-based services for individuals with developmental disabilities. It also requires the state to retain a contractor to perform an independent evaluation of these transitions.

The Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services plans to require all providers to complete the transition by July 2017, while the Division of Developmental Disabilities is transitioning providers in a more gradual fashion.

The sponsors noted that health care providers across the state have expressed concern that the new payment model will result in substantial revenue losses that could force many to reduce or eliminate community-based treatment services.

“Our primary concern is to ensure that the transition to a fee-for-service payment system doesn’t end up having a negative impact on the delivery of treatment by forcing service providers out of business and effectively limiting treatment options,” said Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle, D-Bergen, chair of the Assembly Human Services Committee. “We need to ensure that the administration is not recklessly toying with a system that could end up cutting off treatment for many people who suffer from severe mental illnesses or have developmental disabilities – those who need it most, but can least afford it.”

Christie's office said he also signed into law additional bills intended to support New Jersey’s military members, veterans.

Christie signed A450/S750 (Mazzeo, Andrzejczak, Mukherji, Moriarty, Benson, Danielsen, Houghtaling/Beach, Van Drew) creating the Wounded Warrior Caregivers Relief Act, which provides a gross income tax credit of up to $675 to family caregivers of totally disabled veterans whose injuries occurred as a result of serving on active duty on or after September 11, 2001.

“We must do all we can do to make it easier for military members who have been left with debilitating injuries in the line of duty and their family members who now care for them,” said Christie. “This compassionate new law provides a tax credit to ease some of the financial burden on those families and show our appreciation for the many sacrifices they have made to keep their loved ones safe and at home."

Other military and veterans bills signed by Christie allow active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces who have completed basic training to wear their dress uniform at their high school graduation.

They also require the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs to work with the Division of Travel and Tourism and the New Jersey Historical Commission to develop an online list with a historic tour of war battles fought and places of historical military significance in New Jersey and its state waters.

Christie also took action on the following bills:

BILL SIGNINGS:

• ACS for A-815/ACS for S-1088 (Land, Andrzejczak, Mosquera, Vainieri Huttle, Bramnick/Van Drew, T. Kean) - Concerns Code Blue alert plans to shelter at-risk individuals
• A-837/S-468 (Jimenez, Green, Mukherji, Sumter, Munoz/Sacco, Greenstein) - Establishes "Hazardous Drug Safe Handling Act;" requires promulgation of standards and regulations concerning safe handling of hazardous drugs by certain health care personnel
• A-1256/S-1381 (Caride, Singleton, Jasey, Wimberly/Bateman) - Requires State Board of Education regulations regarding school nurse certification to include certain minimum eligibility requirements
• A-1649/S-853 (Schaer, Pintor Marin, Wimberly, Mukherji/Stack) - Requires local governments and authorities to obtain financing cost estimate from NJ Environmental Infrastructure Trust for certain projects
• ACS for A-1973/SCS for S-2401 (Prieto, Handlin/Diegnan, Stack) - "Appraisal Management Company Registration and Regulation Act"
• A-1991/S-2722 (Prieto, Jimenez, Oliver/Stack, Cunningham) - Provides two elected members of pension commission of closed Hudson County Employees' Pension Fund may be active or retired county employees
• ACS for A-2004/SCS for S-731 (Green, Benson, Moriarty, Mukherji, Pintor Marin/Cruz-Perez, Beach) - Establishes certain penalties for operating or participating in pyramid promotional schemes
• A-2087/SCS for S-2792 (Mukherji, Schaer, Downey, Quijano/Greenstein, Turner) - Grants drivers additional time to resolve parking violations prior to license or registration suspension
• A-2340/S-2108 (Benson, Muoio, Gusciora/Greenstein, Diegnan) - Authorizes students in Marie H. Katzenbach school for the deaf to operate State vehicle for driver education and provides protection for such activity under tort claims act
• A-2512/S-1899 (DeAngelo, Pintor Marin, Houghtaling/Whelan, Turner) - Requires BPU to render decision on case within 12 months of final public hearing or hold another public hearing prior to deciding case
• A-2805/S-2726 (Caputo, Houghtaling, McKeon, Chiaravalloti/Codey, Pou) - Requires DMVA to develop online historic tour identifying locations of war battles and places of significance to war efforts in State
• A-3011/S-2796 (Conaway, Singleton/Allen) - Modifies charter of Board of Island Managers of Burlington Island to move elections to November
• AS for A-3351/S-2570 (Lampitt, Andrzejczak, Quijano, Holley, Jones, Space/Cruz-Perez, Oroho) - Creates license to manufacturer and sell hard cider and mead
• A-3581/SCS for S-2582, 2092 (Downey, Mosquera, Danielsen, Houghtaling, Van Drew, Turner, Moriarty) - Requires Internet-connected baby monitors to include security features
• A-3601/S-2209 (Schaer/Vitale, Gill) - Concerns regulation of guaranteed asset protection waivers by DOBI
• A-3785/S-2396 (Downey, Houghtaling, Jasey, Singleton, Holley, Caride, Wimberly/Ruiz, Turner) - Requires State to pay educational costs of students who reside in homeless shelter outside district of residence for more than one year
• A-4019/S-2491 (Mazzeo, Mukherji, Andrzejczak, Land, DeCroce, McKnight, Danielsen/Cruz-Perez, Madden) - Permits eligible students who are members of United States Armed Forces to wear military uniform at high school graduation
• A-4146/S-2521 (Vainieri Huttle, Benson, Lampitt, Johnson, McKnight, Sumter/Vitale, Gordon) – STATEMENT UPON SIGNING - Provides for monitoring and evaluation of transition of mental health and substance use disorder treatment service system and developmental disability system to fee-for-service reimbursement model; makes appropriation
• A-4284/S-2675 (Quijano, Benson, Muoio, Caride, Vainieri Huttle, McKnight, Wimberly, Sumter/Diegnan, Beach) - Provides that school districts and nonpublic schools may receive reimbursement for costs incurred on or after January 1, 2016 for testing school drinking water for lead
• A-4344/S-2729 (Karabinchak, Pinkin, Coughlin, Wisniewski/Diegnan, Vitale) - Designates portion of Route 18 in East Brunswick as "State Trooper Werner Foerster Memorial Interchange"
• AJR-76/SJR-16 (Vainieri Huttle, Holley, McKnight, Jasey/Gill) - Designates September "Affordable Housing Awareness Month"
• AJR-130/SJR-92 (Vainieri Huttle, Lampitt/Vitale, Singer) - Designates January 23 of each year as "Maternal Health Awareness Day" in New Jersey

BILLS VETOED:

• A-1850/S-2606 (Giblin, DeAngelo, Mukherji, Holley/Diegnan) – ABSOLUTE - Extends by two months seasonal retail consumption alcoholic beverage license
• A-1869/S-668 (Wimberly, Vainieri Huttle, Oliver, Tucker, Quijano, Johnson/Rice, Cruz-Perez) - CONDITIONAL - Establishes Division of Minority and Women Business Development and State Chief Disparity Officer to monitor efforts to promote participation by minority-owned and women-owned businesses in State contracting
• A-2353/S-367 (Vainieri Huttle, Jasey, Mukherji, Benson, Quijano/Codey, Turner) – CONDITIONAL - Establishes measures to deter steroid use among students; appropriates $45,000 to DOE for New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association testing of student-athletes for steroids and other performance enhancing substances
• A-3091/S-2528 (Munoz, Gusciora, O'Scanlon, Oliver, Lagana, Lampitt, Mukherji, Sumter/Pou, Weinberg, Cunningham) - CONDITIONAL - Bars persons under age 18 from marrying or entering into a civil union