Stakeholders tell Assembly committee licensing delays, vacancies and outdated tech are hurting New Jersey’s workforce

Chairman Stanley opened a hearing of the Assembly Regulated Professions Committee saying he had “heard from countless professionals” about problems with the professional licensing system, and stakeholders across health care, construction trades and regulated professions told the panel on Tuesday that slow processing, board vacancies and outdated technology are worsening workforce shortages and harming New Jersey residents.

The testimony painted a consistent picture: applicants sometimes wait months for initial licensure or reciprocity; boards that must vote on approvals are hampered by unfilled seats; and licensing fees that could fund improved operations have in the past been diverted away from the Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA).

“The delays are particularly concerning in areas where we are experiencing critical workforce shortages,” said Althea Ford, vice president of government affairs for the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. “When we have those delays it really signals to the licensed community that we’re not being valued.”

Why this matters: witnesses said slow licensure reduces the available workforce for essential services — from nurses and nursing-home administrators to dentists and psychologists — and creates measurable economic and public-health impacts. Theresa Edelstein, senior vice president at the New Jersey Hospital Association, testified that the association’s research shows a substantial shortage of health-care staff and that delays force facilities to rely on overtime and expensive temporary staffing.

Most witnesses described similar problems and offered overlapping remedies: invest licensing fees back into the division, modernize application portals, fill board vacancies, and pursue multistate licensure compacts where appropriate.

What witnesses said

- Althea Ford (New Jersey Business and Industry Association) and Amira Hussain (New Jersey Chamber of Commerce) urged better technology and transparency, including real-time tracking that lets applicants see where an application stands, and said fee diversions to the general fund have reduced DCA capacity. “There is no excuse for not being better than Domino’s,” Eileen Kane, a member of the State Board of Pharmacy, said, arguing for a reliable portal and tracking akin to commercial delivery systems.

- Health-care groups said delays are acute in clinical licensing. John Endyke of the Healthcare Association of New Jersey and Theresa Edelstein of NJHA described delays in recognizing out-of-state nurses and in processing initial nursing and administrator licenses; Endyke said some reciprocity approvals for nursing home administrators can take “up to 8 to 10 months.”

- The New Jersey Psychological Association and other clinical groups warned of care access impacts: Alexander Miller Clark, the association president, said about 60% of psychologists nationally are not accepting new patients and reported wait times in New Jersey ranging from months up to more than a year for some patients.

- Trade and professional groups — including the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors and the New Jersey Dental Association — said initial licensure and new-business registrations are the most problematic processes. George Kelder of the funeral directors association listed a continuing pattern of delays since before 2010 and urged reinvestment of licensing fees in DCA operations.

Common themes and examples

- Technology and transparency: Multiple witnesses said the state’s portal and case-tracking are outdated, lack automated front-end validation, and do not reliably notify applicants of missing or incorrect documents. That can leave an application “in the dark” for months, they said.

- Board vacancies and quorum problems: Several boards were cited as short-staffed. Witnesses said vacancies at boards such as cosmetology, mortuary science, cemetery, chiropractic and psychological examiners have sometimes left boards without quorums, delaying decisions on applications and disciplinary matters.

- Fee diversion and staffing: Witnesses urged that licensing fee revenue be retained to fund DCA operations and that the division be allowed the staffing flexibility to handle high-volume boards (for example, nursing). Some witnesses said fee sweeps into the general fund had been curtailed but that historic diversions left lasting capacity gaps.

- Compacts and reciprocity: Several witnesses supported broader use of interstate licensure compacts (for nursing, medicine, psychology and other professions) to accelerate cross‑state mobility. Witnesses noted, however, that compacts only help if the applicant already holds a compact credential; reciprocity from non‑compact states can still take many months.

Committee direction and next steps

At the end of the hearing, Chairman Stanley asked stakeholder groups to provide follow-up information. He asked Althea Ford to coordinate distribution of three requests from the committee: (1) how the legislature can best support industries facing licensing delays; (2) structural changes to professional boards that would improve performance; and (3) specific aspects of the licensure regime that should be changed to increase effectiveness. The chair said the committee will continue the discussion and may use the FY26 budget process to press for reforms.

Voices in their own words

- “If licensees are held up in frivolous or unnecessary disciplinary issues that pulls them away from the ability to actually show up to work,” Althea Ford said.

- “We would then submit the application on their behalf to the board. In exchange for that, the board has promised a decision on those applicants within 4 to 6 weeks,” John Endyke said, describing a voluntary review pilot his association offered to speed decisions for nursing home administrator candidates.

- “Every week of delay means fewer dental professionals available,” said a representative of the New Jersey Dental Association, citing industry estimates of economic loss tied to delayed dentist licensure.

Ending note

Witnesses told the committee they are willing to partner with the division and the Legislature on targeted fixes: automated front-end checks, clearer communication protocols, more staff for high-volume boards, expedited pathways for public-interest needs, and filling board vacancies more promptly. The committee has requested written follow-ups and signaled that it will fold those findings into future oversight and budget work.