In one of her first major regulatory moves since taking office, Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed Executive Order No. 13 on Friday, granting thousands of New Jersey health care professionals a 45-day reprieve from reinstating pre-pandemic restrictions.
The order extends a specific State of Emergency—originally declared by former Gov. Phil Murphy in 2020—that was set to expire at 5:00 p.m. Feb. 16. Without the governor’s intervention, roughly 17,000 advanced practice nurses (APNs) and 4,000 physician assistants (PAs) would have been legally required to immediately secure formal “joint protocol” or “delegation” agreements with supervising physicians to continue practicing and prescribing medication.
The new deadline for these professionals to comply with the restored regulations is now April 2, at 5:00 p.m.
Sherrill emphasized that the extension is a necessary safeguard against a sudden contraction in the state’s health care capacity.
“Many health care professionals across New Jersey are bracing for impact as years-long state of emergency provisions come to an abrupt end,” Sherrill said in a statement. “These sudden regulatory changes… [potentially force] clinics and small, independent practices to close their doors, making it more difficult for New Jerseyans to access critical health care services.”
The administration highlighted that the sudden “cliff” could have particularly dire consequences for:
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Reproductive health care services which are often time-sensitive.
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Medically underserved populations relying on community clinics.
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Small, independent practices that may not have had enough time to finalize legal paperwork with physicians after nearly six years of operating under emergency waivers.
The waivers, which have been in place since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed APNs and PAs to practice to the full extent of their training without the administrative burden of a signed agreement from a doctor. While former Governor Murphy moved to end the broader emergency before leaving office, Sherrill’s administration argues that a 30-day transition period was insufficient for the industry to pivot.
The 45-day extension also provides a breathing room for the State Legislature. Currently, Senate Bill 2996 is circulating in Trenton, which would allow experienced APNs (those with over 2,400 hours of practice) to operate independently on a permanent basis.
By extending the emergency until April, Sherrill is effectively signaling a willingness to let the legislative process play out before forcing the medical community back into a pre-2020 regulatory framework.
