ASSEMBLY, No. 799
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DAVID BAILEY, JR.
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Assemblyman WILLIAM B. SAMPSON, IV
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblyman DAN HUTCHISON
District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Peterpaul and Donlon
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits advertising artificial intelligence system as licensed mental health professional.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning artificial intelligence systems and supplementing P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A person who develops or deploys an artificial intelligence system in the State shall not advertise or represent to the public that the system is or is able to act as a licensed mental health professional.
b. It shall be an unlawful practice and a violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) for any person who develops or deploys an artificial intelligence system in the State to violate the provisions of this act.
c. As used in this act:
"Artificial intelligence" means: (1) any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight, or that can learn from experience and improve performance when exposed to data sets; (2) an artificial system developed in computer software, physical hardware, or other context that solves tasks requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, or physical action; (3) an artificial system designed to think or act like a human, including cognitive architectures and neural networks; (4) a set of techniques, including machine learning, that is designed to approximate a cognitive task; or (5) an artificial system designed to act rationally, including an intelligent software agent or embodied robot that achieves goals using perception, planning, reasoning, learning, communicating, decision making, and acting.
"Licensed mental health professional" means an individual licensed or otherwise authorized to practice a profession licensed or regulated by the Alcohol and Drug Counselor Committee, the State Board of Creative Arts and Activities Therapies, the State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, the State Board of Medical Examiners, the Professional Counselor Examiners Committee, the Certified Psychoanalysts Advisory Committee, the State Board of Psychological Examiners, the State Board of Social Work Examiners, the New Jersey Board of Nursing, or any other entity created hereafter under Title 45 to license or otherwise regulate a profession that provides mental health care.
2. This act shall take
effect on the first day of the sixth month next following the date of
enactment, except that the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs may
take any anticipatory action in advance as shall be necessary for the
implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a person who develops or deploys an artificial intelligence system in the State from advertising or representing to the public that the system is or is able to act as a licensed mental health professional.
A violation of the bill's provisions would be an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act, and would be punishable by a monetary penalty of not more than $10,000 for a first offense and not more than $20,000 for any subsequent offense. Additionally, a violation of the consumer fraud act can result in cease and desist orders issued by the Attorney General, the assessment of punitive damages, and the awarding of treble damages and costs to the injured.