New Jersey A 946: Provides that public employee pension benefits are calculated on base salary exclusive of various forms of extra compensation.

Bill Text

A946 

ASSEMBLY, No. 946 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

Assemblywoman HEATHER SIMMONS

District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen DePhillips, Sampson, Assemblywomen Quijano, 
Pintor Marin, Assemblymen Peterson, Calabrese, Assemblywoman Katz, Assemblymen 
Rodriguez, Barlas, Assemblywoman Dunn, Assemblyman Scharfenberger, 
Assemblywoman Flynn, Assemblymen Auth, DiMaio, Assemblywoman Carter, 
Assemblymen Bergen, Inganamort, Verrelli, Schnall, DeAngelo, Assemblywoman 
Speight, Assemblymen Sauickie, Karabinchak, Assemblywoman Haider, Assemblyman 
Azzariti Jr., Assemblywomen Peterpaul, Donlon, Tucker, Drulis, Collazos-Gill, 
Bagolie, Assemblymen Miller, Bailey, Danielsen, Kanitra, Assemblywomen Park, 
Fantasia, Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblyman Clifton, Assemblywoman Swain, 
Assemblymen Venezia, Myhre, Rumpf, Freiman, Hutchison, McGuckin, Assemblywoman 
Lopez, Assemblymen Stanley and Moen

SYNOPSIS

���� "Right to Mental Health for Individuals who are 
Deaf or Hard of Hearing Act"; establishes certain requirements concerning 
provision of mental health services to individuals who are deaf or hard of 
hearing.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative 
Counsel.

��

An Act 
concerning access to mental health services for people who are deaf and hard of 
hearing and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.

���� Be It 
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of 
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� This act shall be known 
and may be cited as the �Right to Mental Health for Individuals who are Deaf or 
Hard of Hearing Act.�

���� 2.��� The Legislature finds 
and declares that:

���� a.��� Individuals who are deaf 
or hard of hearing, as a group, represent an underserved population in many 
respects, particularly with regard to access to mental health services.

���� b.��� Individuals who are deaf 
or hard of hearing often require highly specialized mental health services 
because of communication barriers and other complex needs.

���� c.��� Research shows that 
individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing are subject to significantly more 
risks to their mental health than are individuals who are able to hear, for 
reasons that include, but are not limited to, issues involving communication 
access in general, deficient communication with family members, educators, and 
treating healthcare professionals, and access to appropriate educational 
services and culturally affirmative and linguistically appropriate physical and 
mental health services.

���� d.��� Some individuals who are 
deaf or hard of hearing may have secondary disabilities that affect the type 
and manner of the mental health services the individual needs.� For example, 
individuals who are deaf and blind often have diverse ways of communicating, 
such as through the use of tactile sign language.

���� e.��� Being deaf or hard of 
hearing affects the most basic human needs, including the ability to 
communicate with other human beings.� Many individuals who are deaf or hard of 
hearing use sign language, which may be their primary method of communication, 
while other individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing receive language orally 
and aurally, with or without visual signs or cues.� However, some individuals 
who are deaf or hard of hearing lack any significant language skills, may 
experience language deprivation, or both.

���� f.���� Individuals who are 
deaf or hard of hearing frequently possess highly diverse communication skills 
and experience highly diverse communication challenges.� The nature and timing 
of a hearing loss, the success of medical or therapeutic remediation efforts, 
and the accessibility of sign language or spoken language at home, school, and 
in other settings, each shape the way that hearing loss affects an individual 
who is deaf or hard of hearing.

���� g.��� The communication 
ability of an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing can vary widely, and 
can be affected by factors such as the individual�s innate abilities and the 
degree to which the individual has been supported in language acquisition.� 
Some individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing are multilingual, with fluency 
in more than one communication method, while others are alingual, with fluency 
in no communication methods.� However, it is not uncommon for individuals who 
are deaf or hard of hearing to have poorly developed language skills in both 
sign language and spoken language.

���� h.��� It is essential that 
individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing:

���� (1)� have access to 
appropriate mental health services that are provided in the primary 
communication method used by the individual, as determined by the individual�s 
preference, by the results of an appropriate communication assessment, or both; 

���� (2)� have access