Bill Text: NJ A4987 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns PTSD counseling services provided by certain veteran organizations.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-07 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee [A4987 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A4987-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns PTSD counseling services provided by certain veteran organizations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning post-traumatic stress disorder counseling services and certain veteran organizations, and supplementing Title 38A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Veterans Affairs shall, when practicable, permit qualified veterans' organizations to provide post-traumatic stress disorder counseling services to veterans and their family members. The counseling services shall be provided free of charge by licensed clinicians.
b. The department and qualified veterans' organizations shall coordinate efforts to:
(1) recruit clinicians to donate professional counseling services to veterans and their family members;
(2) match clinicians with veterans and their family members; and
(3) maintain a list of clinicians who are available to provide professional counseling services to veterans and their family members.
c. The department shall create a system for monitoring and verifying the donated hours to facilitate a tax credit to be provided to clinicians offering counseling services to veterans and their family members pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
The department shall provide documentation to the clinicians for annual submission to the Department of the Treasury to verify the amount of tax credit the clinician is eligible to request pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The amount of annual tax credit shall be determined by the department as the sum of the donated counseling hours provided to the veterans and their family members multiplied by the documented compensation rate applied to these hours. To determine the compensation rate, the department shall use the calendar year TRICARE rate for the service provided in the geographic location in which the service is provided. The department shall limit the cumulative hours which are authorized for the annual tax credit to a minimum of 20 hours and a maximum of 40 hours per year, per clinician.
d. All clinicians volunteering to provide counseling services shall be immune from civil liability as provided in P.L.1991, c.270 (C.2A:62A-16 et seq.).
e. The department and qualified veterans organizations shall advertise the counseling services on their respective websites and in any other location and manner as the department or qualified veterans organizations, as appropriate, may deem appropriate.
f. The Department of Veterans Affairs shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement this act.
g. As used in this act:
"Clinician" means a person who provides mental health services, is experienced with post-traumatic stress disorder, and is licensed or otherwise authorized, pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes, to practice a health care profession that is regulated by one of the following: the State Board of Medical Examiners; the State Board of Psychological Examiners; the State Board of Social Work Examiners; or the State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners.
"Family member" means a spouse, parent, sibling, child, or grandparent, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption, legal guardian, romantic partner, or any person residing in the veteran's household.
"Qualified veterans' organization" means a veterans' organization that qualifies as a section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) tax exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code, or a federally chartered veterans' service organization.
"Veteran" means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, or a Reserve component thereof, including the National Guard, who has been honorably discharged, or discharged or released under other than dishonorable conditions from that service.
2. a. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, next following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the tax otherwise due for the taxable year under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act," N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq., in an amount equal to the amount documented annually by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the counseling services provided pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. The order of priority of the application of the credit allowed pursuant to this section and any other credits allowed against the New Jersey gross income tax due pursuant to N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq. for a taxable year shall be as prescribed by the director.
The amount of the credit applied against the New Jersey gross income tax due pursuant to N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq. shall not reduce a taxpayer's New Jersey gross income tax liability to an amount less than zero.
c. A business entity that is classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes shall not be allowed a credit directly, but the amount of credit of a taxpayer in respect of a distributive share of entity income, shall be determined by allocating to the taxpayer that proportion of the credit acquired by the entity that is equal to the taxpayer's share, whether or not distributed, of the total distributive income or gain of the entity for its taxable year ending within or with the taxpayer's taxable year.
A New Jersey S Corporation shall not be allowed a credit directly under the gross income tax, but the amount of credit of a taxpayer in respect of a pro rata share of S Corporation income, shall be determined by allocating to the taxpayer that proportion of the credit acquired by the New Jersey S Corporation that is equal to the taxpayer's share, whether or not distributed, of the total pro rata share of S Corporation income of the New Jersey S Corporation for its privilege period ending within or with the taxpayer's taxable year.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment, except that the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
Under this bill, the Department of Veterans Affairs will, when practicable, permit qualified veterans organizations to provide post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, counseling services to veterans and their family members. The counseling services will be provided free of charge by licensed clinicians.
The department and the qualified veterans' organizations will coordinate efforts to recruit clinicians to donate professional counseling services and to match clinicians with the veterans and their family members. The clinicians will be immune from civil liability as provided by law.
The department will provide documentation to the clinicians for annual submission to the Department of the Treasury to verify the amount of tax credit the clinician is eligible to request pursuant to law. The department will limit the cumulative hours which are authorized for the annual tax credit to a minimum of 20 hours and a maximum of 40 hours per year, per clinician.
The department and the qualified veterans' organizations will advertise the counseling services on their websites, and in any other location and manner as deemed appropriate.
Under the bill, "clinician" means a person who provides mental health services, is experienced with post-traumatic stress disorder, and is licensed or otherwise authorized by law to practice a health care profession that is regulated by one of the following: the State Board of Medical Examiners; the State Board of Psychological Examiners; the State Board of Social Work Examiners; or the State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners.
The bill defines "family member" to mean a spouse, parent, sibling, child, or grandparent, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption, legal guardian, romantic partner, or any person residing in the veteran's household and "qualified veterans' organization" to mean a veterans' organization that qualifies as a section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) tax exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code, or a federally chartered veterans' service organization.
The bill also defines "veteran" to mean a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, or a Reserve component thereof, including the National Guard, who has been honorably discharged, or discharged or released under other than dishonorable conditions from that service.
