The New Jersey State Bar Association, its counterparts at the county level and a coalition of other professional organizations are once again urging lawmakers to shorten the filing period for malpractice claims from six to two years.

The state bar is joined by 19 county bar associations—and professional groups representing architects, builders, engineers, dentists, opticians, heating and cooling contractors, surveyors, certified public accountants and electrical contractors; along with the American Insurance Association and the New Jersey Civil Justice Institute, a tort reform organization—in urging passage of the latest measure.

Standing in their way are plaintiffs lawyers, who largely oppose the change, and a Legislature that's declined to pass numerous previous versions of the bill.