A New Jersey compact nurse license bill is one step closer to becoming law after state Senate members passed it last Thursday. The bill passed unanimously, 35-0, with five senators abstaining.

The bill would allow New Jersey to join the Nursing Licensure Compact. If approved, New Jersey would be the 32nd state to join the new enhanced NLC which was fully implemented in January 2018. Currently, seven other states also have pending legislation to join the NLC.

It would also provide access for New Jersey nurses to practice in its neighbor state Deleware, as well as several other compact states in the Northeast region including Maryland, New Hampshire, Maine, Virginia and West Virginia.

Some business associations and nursing groups have thrown their support behind compact nurse license bill in recent weeks, including the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.

“I want to first thank Senator Singleton for recognizing the nursing shortage in New Jersey and for introducing legislation that would simplify the process for out-of-state nurses to work in New Jersey,” NJBIA vice president Tony Bawidamann said in a press release. “As a result of his great work, nurses will only need to obtain a license from the state they reside in to be permitted to work in New Jersey, instead of having to go through the whole licensing process again.”

One of the largest nursing and healthcare labor unions in the state, Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), has not endorsed the bill, citing concerns that it could lower the bar for workforce qualifications, according to a report by NJ Spotlight.

This is the third time an NLC bill has been introduced since 2015, but the first time that it has made it out of committee and passed through a Senate vote. Senators Troy Singleton, Joseph Vitale and Fred Madden, Jr., sponsored the most recent bill.

A companion bill in the New Jersey General Assembly is currently in committee and awaiting a final vote in the Assembly before moving to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk. The next full Assembly session is scheduled for March 25, according to the state legislature’s website.