Bill Text: NJ A5678 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes "Farm Mental Health and Financial Services Task Force."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-06-28 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Food Security Committee [A5678 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A5678-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes "Farm Mental Health and Financial Services Task Force."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning mental health and financial services for farmers and persons working on farms, and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established a task force to be known as the "Farm Mental Health and Financial Services Task Force." The purpose of the task force shall be to develop and maintain a list of mental health and financial assistance services for farm owners and operators, farm supervisors, and farm laborers in order to provide:
(1) support for their mental and psychological well-being; and
(2) financial services to navigate the business and financial challenges of farm life that contribute to stress and affect mental and psychological well-being.
b. The task force shall consist of five members, including the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Health, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio, and three public members to be appointed by the Governor, as follows:
(1) one public member who is a representative of a farmer advocacy group;
(2) one public member who is a representative of a Statewide banking association active in agricultural communities, and who either has experience in providing financial services, or a firm understanding of the financial services available, to farmers and other persons working on farms in the State; and
(3) one public member who is a representative of a Statewide mental health advocacy group, who is familiar with the mental health providers and services that are available to provide counseling and other mental health assistance to farmers and other persons working on farms in the State.
c. Each public member of the task force, appointed pursuant to subsection b. of this section, shall serve a term of three years, except that, of the three public members first appointed pursuant to subsection b. of this section, one shall serve an initial term of one year, one shall serve an initial term of two years, and one shall serve an initial term of three years. Vacancies in the task force membership shall be filled in the same manner provided for the initial appointments, and a public member may be reappointed to the task force following the expiration of the member's term.
d. The members of the task force
shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties, within the limits of funds
appropriated or otherwise made available for the task force's purposes.
2. a. The task force shall organize, at the call of the Governor, within 45 days after the appointment of its members, and shall select a chairperson from among its three public members. Thereafter, the task force shall meet at the call of the chairperson.
b. The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health shall provide professional and clerical staff to the task force as may be necessary for its purposes. The task force shall also be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any other State department, board, bureau, commission, or agency, as it may require and as may be available for its purposes, and to employ a secretary or other appropriate staff member, who need not be a member of the task force, to provide the task force with stenographic and clerical assistance.
c. Three members of the task force shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of official business.
3. a. No later than 180 days after the task force's initial organizational meeting, the task force shall:
(1) develop and publicize a list of mental health and financial assistance services for farm owners and operators, farm supervisors, and farm laborers, as well as information on the types and nature of services available to such individuals in the State and the manner in which such services may be accessed thereby; and
(2) study the means and methods that have been used by other states and jurisdictions to facilitate and improve the mental health and financial stability of farmers and other farm workers in those jurisdictions, and develop recommendations for executive, legislative, and other appropriate actions that could be undertaken to better address these issues in New Jersey.
b. The list of mental health and financial assistance services developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section, at a minimum, shall include the available services identified by the task force to date that may bolster the mental and psychological well-being of farmers and other persons who own, operate, or work on farms in the State, or that provide financial assistance, education, or information to enable such persons to successfully navigate the business and financial challenges of farm life that may contribute to stress and affect their mental and psychological well-being.
c. The list of mental health and financial assistance services developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be posted in a publicly accessible location on the Internet websites of both the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health, and shall be regularly maintained, updated, and expanded by the task force, at least once every 180 days thereafter, as necessary to ensure that it continues to contain the most up-to-date service information. Following the online publication of the list, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health shall issue periodic public service announcements, each year, to alert the public of the availability of the list.
4. No later than three years after the task force's initial organizational meeting, and on at least a triennial basis thereafter, the task force shall issue a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, summarizing the work undertaken by the task force during the reporting period, describing the impact the task force has had on the mental, psychological, and financial well-being of farmers and other persons who own, operate, or work on farms in the State, providing recommendations regarding the need for continued task force operations, and providing recommendations for executive, legislative, and other actions that the task force deems beneficial to, or appropriate to support, the mental and psychological well-being of farmers and other persons who own, operate, or work on farms in the State.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The bill establishes a task force to be known as the "Farm Mental Health and Financial Services Task Force." The purpose of the task force would be to develop and maintain a list of mental health and financial assistance services for farm owners and operators, farm supervisors, and farm laborers to bolster the mental and psychological well-being of farmers and persons who own, operate, or work on farms and provide financial services to enable these persons to navigate the business and financial challenges of farm life that may contribute to stress and deteriorating mental and psychological well-being.
The 5-member task force would consist of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Commissioner of Health, and three public members, appointed by the Governor, including: 1) a representative of a farmer advocacy group; 2) a representative of a Statewide banking association active in agricultural communities, who has experience in providing financial services, or has a firm understanding of the financial services available, to farmers and other persons working on farms; and 3) a representative of a Statewide mental health advocacy group, who is familiar with the mental health providers and services that are available to provide counseling and other mental health assistance to farmers and other persons working on farms in the State.
The task force would be required to develop and publicize a list of mental health and financial assistance services that are available to farm owners and operators, farm supervisors, and farm laborers in the State, and provide associated information on the types and nature of available services and the manner in which such services may be accessed. The task force would be required to post the list of available services on the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health websites, and thereafter, maintain and update the list every 180 days to ensure that it contains the most up-to-date information. After the online publication of the list the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health would be required to broadcast periodic public service announcements, each year, to alert the public to the availability of the list.
The task force would be required to issue a report, to the Governor and the Legislature, no later than three years after the task force's initial organizational meeting, and at least every three years thereafter, summarizing the work undertaken by the task force during the reporting period, describing the impact the task force has had on the mental, psychological, and financial well-being of farmers and persons who own, operate, or work on farms, providing recommendations for the continuation of task force operations in future years, and providing recommendations for executive, legislative, and other actions that are deemed by the task force to be beneficial to, or appropriate to support, the mental and psychological well-being of farmers and persons who own, operate, or work on farms in the State.
The rate of suicide among farmers is three and a half times higher than among the general population, according to the National Rural Health Association. Suicide rates in rural communities increased by 48 percent between the years 2000 and 2018, compared with 34 percent in urban areas.
