A 3236 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Establishes oversight and qualifications of peer recovery specialists.

This bill establishes a certification system for peer recovery specialists in New Jersey, who provide support to individuals with substance use or mental health challenges based on their personal lived experience. To practice, individuals must meet standards set by the Division of Consumer Affairs, including passing a background check, and cannot represent themselves as certified without approval. The law exempts existing support groups (like Alcoholics Anonymous), clergy, students in training, and licensed professionals (such as therapists) who don’t claim certification. It also prohibits conflicts of interest, like exploiting peer relationships for personal gain. The bill takes effect 13 months after enactment.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill → Introduced · 3 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MINOR

The bill moved from technical review status to introduced status, with minor formatting cleanups and the addition of a legislative statement summarizing the bill's provisions. No substantive policy changes were made to the actual regulatory text governing peer recovery specialists.

TECHNICAL

Bill designation changed from 'A3236 TR' (technical review) to 'A3236' (introduced), and the status line was updated from 'As reported by the Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee with technical review' to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.'

A legislative STATEMENT section was appended at the end of the bill, providing a plain-language summary of what the bill does: it authorizes the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs to regulate peer recovery specialists, sets out prohibited conduct, and lists exemptions for clergy, trainees, self-help providers, and others acting within their professional scope.

Minor whitespace formatting adjustments throughout sub-sections (removing extra spaces after lettered subsection markers).

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Reported and Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee

lower

2 primary · 4 co-sponsors