S 1405 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Establishes professional licensure and certification for tobacco treatment counseling.

This bill establishes licensing and certification standards for tobacco treatment specialists in New Jersey. It creates two new credentials: "Certified tobacco treatment specialist" (requiring a high school diploma, 42-hour training, and experience) and "Licensed clinical tobacco treatment specialist" (requiring a master's degree, 18 graduate counseling hours, and a national exam). The law directly affects professionals providing tobacco/nicotine counseling by setting education, training, and examination requirements. It amends existing law to mirror standards already applied to alcohol/drug counselors, aiming to ensure qualified practitioners meet consistent standards for public safety.

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 May 18, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Reprint · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill moved from its introduced version to a first reprint after Senate Commerce Committee action on May 18, 2026. The main substantive change broadens the acceptable tobacco dependence training requirement: applicants no longer need to complete specifically the Rutgers Tobacco Dependence Program but may now complete any accredited program on tobacco dependence. A co-sponsor (Senator Schepis) was added and the introductory statement section was removed as is standard after committee reporting.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants for certified clinical tobacco treatment specialist are no longer limited to completing the Rutgers Tobacco Dependence Program of 42 hours. They may now complete 'the Rutgers Tobacco Dependence Program of 42 hours, or other accredited program on tobacco dependence.' This broadens the pool of acceptable training programs.

TECHNICAL

Senator Holly T. Schepis (District 39, Bergen) was added as a co-sponsor.

Bill status changed from 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel' to 'As reported by the Senate Commerce Committee on May 18, 2026, with amendments.'

The entire STATEMENT section (a summary of the bill's provisions for legislators) was removed, which is standard when a bill advances past introduction.

Typo fix: 'fulltime' corrected to 'full-time' in paragraph (1).

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee

upper

2 primary · 1 co-sponsor