Bill Text: NJ S2137 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Revises "The Professional Service Corporation Act."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-16 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee [S2137 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S2137-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator NIA H. GILL
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Revises "The Professional Service Corporation Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning professional service corporations, and amending, supplementing, and repealing various sections of P.L.1969, c.232.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-3) is amended to read as follows:
3. Terms defined. As used in [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) , the following words shall have the meanings indicated:
(1) "Professional service" shall mean any type of personal service to the public which requires as a condition precedent to the rendering of such service the obtaining of a license or other legal authorization and which prior to the passage of [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) and by reason of law could not be performed by a corporation. By way of example and without limiting the generality thereof, the personal services which come within the provisions of [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) are the personal services rendered by certified public accountants, architects, optometrists, ophthalmic dispensers and technicians, professional engineers, land surveyors, land planners, chiropractors, physical therapists, registered professional nurses, psychologists, dentists, osteopaths, physicians and surgeons, doctors of medicine, doctors of dentistry, podiatrists, veterinarians and, subject to the Rules of the Supreme Court, attorneys-at-law;
(2) "Professional corporation" means a corporation which is organized under [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) for the sole and specific purpose of rendering the same or closely allied professional service as its shareholders, each of whom [must] shall be licensed or otherwise legally authorized [within this State] to render such professional service;
(3) "Closely allied professional service" means and is limited to the practice of (a) architecture, professional engineering, land surveying and land planning and (b) any branch of medicine and surgery, optometry, opticianry, physical therapy, registered professional nursing, psychology, and dentistry;
(4) "Domestic professional legal corporation" means a professional corporation incorporated under P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) for the sole purpose of rendering legal services of the type provided by attorneys-at-law;
(5) "Foreign
professional legal corporation" means a corporation incorporated under the
laws of another state for the purpose of
rendering legal services of the type provided by attorneys-at-law.
(cf: P.L.2014, c.79, s.1)
2. Section 5 of P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-5) is amended to read as follows:
5. Professional corporation and foreign professional legal corporation.
(a) One or more persons, each of whom is duly licensed or otherwise legally authorized to render the same or closely allied professional service within this State, may organize and become a shareholder or shareholders of a professional corporation for pecuniary profit under the provisions of the [Business Corporation Act of New Jersey (Title 14A, Corporations, General, of the New Jersey Statutes)] "New Jersey Business Corporation Act," N.J.S.14A:1-1 et seq. , for the sole and specific purpose of rendering such professional service.
(b) A foreign professional [legal] corporation may render [legal] services [of the type provided by attorneys-at-law] in this State provided [by] that it secures a certificate of authority from the [Secretary of State] Department of the Treasury in accordance with Chapter 13 of the [Business Corporation Act of New Jersey (Title 14A, Corporations, General, of the New Jersey Statutes)] "New Jersey Business Corporation Act," N.J.S.14A:1-1 et seq., and provided further that every shareholder or employee of the foreign professional [legal] corporation providing [legal] professional services in this State is [an attorney-at-law] licensed and eligible to practice in this State [under] by the licensing authority in this State for the professional service, or in the case of a professional legal corporation, the Rules of the Supreme Court.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.375, s.2)
3. Section 9 of P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-9) is amended to read as follows:
9. Limitations on corporate business activity.
No professional corporation shall engage in any business other than the rendering of the professional services for which it was specifically incorporated; and no foreign professional [legal] corporation shall engage in any business in this State other than the rendering of [legal] professional services of the type [provided by attorneys-at-law] for which it was formed ; provided, that nothing in [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) or in any other provisions of existing law applicable to corporations shall be interpreted to prohibit such corporation from investing its funds in real estate, mortgages, stocks, bonds or any other type of investments, or from owning real or personal property necessary for, or appropriate or desirable in, the fulfillment or rendering of its professional services.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.375, s.5)
4. Section 15 of P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-15) is amended to read as follows:
15. Applicable law; consolidation, merger; report, contents. The [Business Corporation Act of New Jersey] "New Jersey Business Corporation Act," N.J.S.14A:1-1 et seq., shall be applicable to a professional corporation and to a foreign professional [legal] corporation except to the extent that any of the provisions of [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) are interpreted to be in conflict with the provisions of the [Business Corporation Act of New Jersey] "New Jersey Business Corporation Act," N.J.S.14A:1-1 et seq. , and in such event the provisions and sections of [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) shall take precedence with respect to a professional corporation and a foreign professional [legal] corporation. [Except for a domestic professional legal corporation, a] A professional corporation organized under [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) may consolidate or merge only with another professional [corporation] entity organized under [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) or the laws of this State or an act or the laws of another state of the United States authorizing licensed professionals to operate in entity form, and empowered to render the same professional service. [A merger or consolidation with any foreign corporation is prohibited.] A domestic professional legal corporation may consolidate or merge either with another domestic professional legal corporation or with a foreign professional legal corporation provided that the registration requirements of [this act] P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.) and the Rules of the Supreme Court are complied with. A professional corporation shall annually furnish a report to the [office of the Secretary of State] Department of the Treasury on a date designated by the [Secretary of State] State Treasurer showing the names and post-office addresses of all its shareholders, directors and officers, which shall certify that, with the exception permitted in section [6] 5 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) , all such persons are duly licensed or otherwise legally authorized to render the same professional service in this State or a foreign state. A foreign professional [legal] corporation shall annually furnish a report to the [office of the Secretary of State] Department of the Treasury on a date designated by the [Secretary of State] State Treasurer showing the names and post-office addresses of all its shareholders, directors and officers, and shall certify that the foreign professional [legal] corporation is authorized to render legal services of the type provided by [attorneys-at-law in] the laws of its state of incorporation and further certify that the shareholders and employees providing such services in this State are [attorneys-at-law] licensed in New Jersey and eligible to practice in this State. This report shall be made on forms prescribed and furnished by the [Secretary of State] Department of the Treasury , but shall contain no information except that expressly called for by this section. It shall be signed by the president or vice-president and the secretary or an assistant secretary of the corporation, and acknowledged by the persons signing the report before a notary public or other officer duly authorized to administer oaths, shall be filed in the [office of the Secretary of State] Department of the Treasury , and shall be in lieu of the regular annual report of corporations otherwise required by the [Business Corporation Act of New Jersey] "New Jersey Business Corporation Act," N.J.S.14A:1-1 et seq .
(cf: P.L.1995, c.375, s.7)
5. (New section) a. The board of directors of a professional corporation shall consist of one or more members. Subject to any provisions contained in the certificate of incorporation, the by-laws shall specify the number of directors, or that the number of directors shall not be less than a stated minimum nor more than a stated maximum, with the actual number to be determined in the manner prescribed in the by-laws, except as to the number constituting the first board.
b. All of the directors of a professional corporation shall be licensed in the profession for which the professional corporation is formed.
c. The president of a professional corporation shall be licensed or otherwise legally authorized in the profession for which the professional corporation is formed. Other officers need not be so licensed or otherwise legally authorized, but their duties shall be limited to the administrative and business activities of the professional corporation and they shall have no authority to direct, administer, or participate directly, or indirectly, in any decisions concerning the rendering of professional service by the corporation's shareholders or its employees.
6. (New section) a. A professional corporation may issue its shares only to the following:
(1) an individual licensed by the State of New Jersey or otherwise legally authorized to render the same professional service as that for which the corporation was incorporated;
(2) an individual licensed by another state of the United States or otherwise legally authorized to render the same professional service as that for which the professional corporation was incorporated; or
(3) an entity owned solely by individuals licensed or otherwise legally authorized as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection.
b. At least one shareholder of a professional corporation shall be either:
(1) an individual licensed by the State of New Jersey or otherwise legally authorized to render the same professional service as that for which the corporation was incorporated; or
(2) an entity described in paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section, provided that at least one of such entity's shareholders or members is an individual licensed or otherwise legally authorized by the State of New Jersey to render the professional service.
c. A physician licensed by the State of New Jersey may hold shares in a professional corporation practicing medicine as a nominee for a hospital for the purpose of directing the professional corporation's professional services, with the hospital enjoying or suffering the professional corporation's profits and losses.
d. No shareholder of a professional corporation shall enter into a voting trust agreement or proxy or any other type of agreement vesting another person, not a shareholder of the corporation, with the authority to exercise the voting power of any or all of the shareholder's shares. Subject to the provisions of the corporation's certificate of incorporation, the estate of a deceased shareholder may continue to hold the shares of such shareholder for a reasonable period of administration of the estate, but shall not be authorized to participate in any decisions concerning the rendering of professional services.
7. (New section) If one or more professionals who desire to practice in corporate form mistakenly form a corporation under the "New Jersey Business Corporation Act," N.J.S.14A:1-1 et seq., at a time when the corporation was eligible to be formed under P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.), the certificate of incorporation of that corporation may be corrected to provide that the corporation is a professional corporation formed under P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.). The correction shall relate back to the filing of the certificate of incorporation.
8. The following sections are repealed:
Section 6 of P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-6); and
Section 10 of P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-10).
9. This act shall take effect on the 120th day following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill amends, supplements
and repeals various sections of "The Professional Service Corporation Act"
(PSCA), P.L.1969, c.232 (C.14A:17-1 et seq.), in order to expand the ability of
foreign
professionals and professional corporations to do business in New Jersey, and to make the PSCA consistent with the "New Jersey Business Corporation Act," N.J.S.14A:1-1 et seq.
Current law requires each shareholder of a professional corporation to be licensed within this State to provide the type of professional services for which the corporation was incorporated. This bill eliminates that requirement, enabling professionals who are licensed or otherwise legally authorized to provide services in other states to be shareholders of a New Jersey professional corporation, provided that at least one shareholder is licensed by the State of New Jersey.
In addition, the bill allows foreign professional corporations to do business in this State through shareholders or employees who are licensed in New Jersey. Current law only extends this privilege to foreign professional legal corporations. This bill also expands the ability of a domestic professional corporation to merge with a foreign professional corporation, or a domestic or foreign limited liability company, authorized to provide the same professional services.
This bill repeals and replaces sections 6 and 10 of the PSCA in order to make the PSCA consistent with the "New Jersey Business Corporation Act." When the PSCA was enacted, a business corporation was required by the "New Jersey Business Corporation Act" to have three directors, but the law was later amended to require only a single director. This bill will similarly reduce the number of required directors to one, and requires that all of the directors and the president be licensed or otherwise legally authorized professionals. Other officers need not be professionals so long as they do not direct or engage in the professional practice.
The bill also broadens the categories of authorized shareholders of a professional corporation to include individuals licensed or otherwise legally authorized by states other than New Jersey and entities, such as professional corporations or limited liability companies, owned solely by individuals authorized to practice the profession, so long as at least one individual shareholder or one individual owner of a permitted entity shareholder is licensed or otherwise authorized by the State of New Jersey. The term "another state of the United States" rather than a "foreign state" is used to limit ownership to professionals licensed in other states of the United States, as distinguished from foreign countries.
Finally, as hospitals have increasingly looked to acquire physician practices, the bill provides that a licensed physician acting as a hospital's nominee may direct the professional medical practice, however the financial benefits and burdens shall be enjoyed or suffered by the hospital.
