Bill Text: NJ S3143 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires hospitals and nursing homes to provide access to certain interpreter services for deaf and hard of hearing.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-06 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S3143 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3143-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Greenstein
SYNOPSIS
Requires hospitals and nursing homes to provide access to certain interpreter services for deaf and hard of hearing.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning interpreter services and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Each hospital and nursing home licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall make interpreter services for the deaf and hard of hearing available to patients 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Interpreter services shall include, at minimum, interpreter services provided through electronic means including, but not limited to, video remote interpreting services and artificial intelligence-assisted interpreting services, as approved by the Commissioner of Health.
2. This act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires each hospital and nursing home licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) to make interpreter services for the deaf and hard of hearing available to patients 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Interpreter services will include, at minimum, interpreter services provided through electronic means including, but not limited to, video remote interpreting services and artificial intelligence-assisted interpreting services, as approved by the Commissioner of Health.