Healthcare (People with Disabilities)

This resolution urges the U.S. Congress to change federal law so people with disabilities do not lose Social Security benefits when they marry. Currently, marriage automatically terminates Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments for many disabled individuals, preventing couples from legally marrying without financial hardship. The resolution highlights that only Congress can amend these marriage-related rules, which are set by statute, and references the SSA’s 2024 acknowledgment of outdated policies. It is a procedural request, not a binding law, calling for legislative action to align disability benefits with marriage rights.

This bill (A 1774) requires New Jersey's Department of Health (DOH) to create critical health care resource allocation policies that comply with federal anti-discrimination laws. It directly affects hospitals, nursing homes, and the DOH by banning policies that exclude or deprioritize people with disabilities from receiving resources based on their disability, using long-term survivability in treatment decisions, or reallocating ventilators from people who normally need them. The bill also mandates hospitals to adjust scoring systems to avoid penalizing patients with unrelated health conditions and prohibits blanket "do not resuscitate" orders, requiring policies to respect individual patient preferences through advance directives or POLST forms. These changes apply to all resource allocation during shortages, such as for beds, equipment, or medications.

This non-binding resolution urges New Jersey's Attorney General to establish mandatory in-service training for all state law enforcement officers. It specifically recommends requiring a minimum of two hours of training every three years focused on interacting with developmentally disabled individuals and those experiencing behavioral health crises. The resolution notes that while basic officer training includes some awareness of these topics, statewide mandatory in-service requirements are currently lacking. It suggests using free NJLearn programs as a potential training resource and recommends guidelines for implementation. As a resolution, it does not create new law but seeks to influence training standards for law enforcement.

S 1121 creates the "Disability Life-Sustaining Measures Advisory Council" within New Jersey's Department of Health to protect people with disabilities during public health emergencies. The council, consisting of 14 members including state officials and public representatives with disability experience, will recommend policies for emergency care (like ventilators and resuscitation), ensure compliance with federal disability anti-discrimination laws, and gather public input on treatment during crises. It must submit annual reports to the Governor and Legislature detailing its findings. This bill directly affects people with disabilities in medical emergencies and establishes a permanent advisory body to address gaps in emergency response planning.

This bill (S 1127) requires licensed long-term care facilities in New Jersey - including nursing homes, assisted living residences, and dementia care homes - to report data about residents with disabilities. Facilities must submit initial reports within 60 days of the law taking effect, detailing the total number of residents with disabilities, breakdowns by disability category (to be defined by state health and human services departments), and age ranges for each category. They must update this data whenever changes occur. The Department of Health will then publish quarterly summaries of this aggregated data on its public website, providing transparency about disability demographics across facilities. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Health Committee.