This bill amends New Jersey's laws regarding health care benefits for public employees, specifically focusing on situations where both spouses are public employees eligible for coverage. It establishes that the employee with the highest annual compensation will select the health care coverage, disqualifying the spouse from receiving benefits from their own employer if that employer offers coverage for dependents. This provision applies to various public entities, including local boards of education, counties, municipalities, and independent state authorities.

Furthermore, the bill prohibits public employers from making any payments to employees who opt to waive their health care coverage, eliminating the previous allowance for financial incentives that were subject to collective bargaining. This change aims to streamline health care benefits for public employees and ensure that only one employer provides coverage when both spouses are public employees. The bill will take effect six months after its enactment and will not impact existing collective negotiations agreements.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 18A:16-14, 40A:10-17.1, 52:14-17.31, 18A:64A-13.1