---
type: "Bill"
title: "Eliminates certificate of need requirement for inpatient psychiatric hospital beds for treatment of psychiatric and substance use disorder dual diagnosis."
description: "Eliminates certificate of need requirement for inpatient psychiatric hospital beds for treatment of psychiatric and substance use disorder dual diagnosis."
jurisdiction: "us/states/nj"
legislature: "New Jersey Legislature"
session: "217"
identifier: "S 2844"
citation: "New Jersey S 2844 (217)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["DRUG ABUSE", "MENTAL HEALT"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Benson, Daniel R.", "Codey, Richard J.", "Eustace, Tim", "Muoio, Elizabeth Maher", "Space, Parker", "Vainieri Huttle, Valerie", "Vitale, Joseph F."]
version_count: 2
action_count: 14
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2016-12-05T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2017-07-03T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/bbf25f6e-fae6-4bab-bac4-a00cac0b0014"
source_url: "http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/downloads.asp"
source_hash: "024d360425dbd6663085fe2b02e3897ae2ed1c4abdee08d19d9f79ee46d27b72"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nj"]
---

# New Jersey S 2844 (217) — Eliminates certificate of need requirement for inpatient psychiatric hospital beds for treatment of psychiatric and substance use disorder dual diagnosis.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/S3000/2844_I1.HTM)
2. **Reprint Conditional Veto** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/S3000/2844_R1.HTM)

## Votes

- Reported favorably out of committee — **9–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported favorably out of committee — **11–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Benson, Daniel R. — primary (person)
- Codey, Richard J. — primary (person)
- Eustace, Tim — primary (person)
- Muoio, Elizabeth Maher — primary (person)
- Space, Parker — primary (person)
- Vainieri Huttle, Valerie — primary (person)
- Vitale, Joseph F. — primary (person)
- Conaway, Herb — cosponsor (person)
- Gordon, Robert M. — cosponsor (person)
- Lampitt, Pamela R. — cosponsor (person)
- O'Scanlon, Declan J. — cosponsor (person)
- Oroho, Steven V. — cosponsor (person)
- Pinkin, Nancy J. — cosponsor (person)
- Schaer, Gary S. — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2016-12-05T05:00:00+00:00** Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2017-01-09T05:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Senate Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2017-01-09T05:00:00+00:00** Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-27T05:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Senate Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2017-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (37-0) `passage`
- **2017-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** Received in the Assembly without Reference, 2nd Reading
- **2017-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** Substituted for A4425
- **2017-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (Passed Both Houses) (74-0-0) `passage`
- **2017-05-01T04:00:00+00:00** Conditional Veto, Received in the Senate `executive-veto`
- **2017-05-25T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd Reading on Concur with Governor's Recommendations (37-0)
- **2017-06-19T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (36-0) `passage`
- **2017-06-22T04:00:00+00:00** Received in the Assembly, 2nd Reading - Concur. w/Gov's Recommendations
- **2017-06-22T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (Passed Both Houses) (75-0-0) `passage`
- **2017-07-03T04:00:00+00:00** Approved P.L.2017, c.94. `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/bbf25f6e-fae6-4bab-bac4-a00cac0b0014`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Jersey legislature records).