On Thursday, the Assembly Appropriations Committee favorably reported, A-5909 and the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee favorably reported S-4267. The identical legislation revises workers’ compensation coverage for certain injuries to volunteer and professional public safety and law enforcement personnel.
The legislation is nearly identical to A-161, which was favorably reported from the Assembly Labor Committee in November and the League reported on, as well as S-651, which was favorably reported from the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee in December. 9-1-1 dispatchers were removed from the new legislation.
We are concerned about the fiscal impact the legislation will have on municipalities which currently face the highest workers' compensation costs in the nation. Without an available fiscal note to evaluate the cost to municipalities, we are unable to determine if the cost to municipalities will be negligible and cannot support such legislation.
While the goal of this legislation is laudable and we are grateful for the service of public safety professionals and volunteers, it is simply unaffordable to municipal governments at this time. Consistent with the League Conference Resolution 2023-14, the League opposes this legislation because the increased costs further hamstring municipalities’ annual compliance to a 2% levy cap.
The bills are scheduled for consideration by both the full Assembly and Senate on Monday.
Contact: Paul Penna, Senior Legislative Analyst, ppenna@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x110.