New Jersey-2010-A1145-Introduced

An Act establishing the Task Force on Underage Drinking in Higher Education.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. There is established a task force to be known as the Task Force on Underage Drinking in Higher Education. The task force shall be comprised of 22 members including: the Chairman of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, or a designee; the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control in the Department of Law and Public Safety, or a designee; the Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety, or a designee; the Director of the Division of Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, or a designee;and 18 members to be appointed by the Governor. The gubernatorial appointments shall include: two college presidents; four vice-presidents or administrators of student affairs representing a county college, a State college established pursuant to chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, an independent institution of higher education, and a public research university; a chief of police of a campus police force of an institution of higher education in the State; a chief of police of a municipal police force that is responsible for policing an institution of higher education in the State; a director of a public safety department of an institution of higher education in the State; a representative of the New Jersey Prevention Network; a representative of the New Jersey chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving; and two college students, two representatives of the K-12 education community, two proprietors of establishments that sell or serve alcoholic beverages on or in close proximity to a college campus, and a member of the faculty of an institution of higher education in the State who shall have knowledge of and expertise in anti-underage drinking policies and programs in the higher education setting.

b. Appointments to the task force shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of this act. Vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made. The members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenditures incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the task force.

c. The task force shall organize as soon as may be practicable after the appointment of its members and shall choose a chairperson from among its members and shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the task force. For purposes of convening a task force meeting, a quorum shall consist of six members; for purposes of adopting task force recommendations, a majority of the total task force membership shall be required.

d. The Commission on Higher Education shall provide such stenographic, clerical and other administrative assistants, and such professional staff, as the task force requires to carry out its work. The task force shall also be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission or agency as it may require and as may be available for its purposes.

2. It shall be the duty of the task force to study and develop recommendations regarding the most effective means of combating the consumption of alcohol by underage persons in the higher education setting. The task force shall:

a. prepare an inventory of all existing partnerships in the State between institutions of higher education, law enforcement agencies, and other stakeholders to combat and respond to incidents of underage drinking in the higher education setting in order to assess the current level of collaboration;

b. review promising partnerships in other states between institutions of higher education, law enforcement agencies, and other stakeholders that are undertaken to combat and respond to incidents of underage drinking in the higher education setting and identify those partnerships that could be effectively modeled in this State;

c. review and compare the student alcohol policies of institutions of higher education in the State, including a review of sanctions for policy violations;

d. identify promising and innovative programs, practices, and policies of institutions of higher education in the State which have been implemented to combat underage drinking;

e. examine the use and impact of Good Samaritan policies, as they relate to alcohol consumption, and which are already in place at some of the State's institutions of higher education; and

f. study and review all aspects of State law relating to underage drinking.

3. The task force shall issue a final report containing its findings and recommendations, including any recommendations for legislation that it deems appropriate, no later than six months after the task force organizes, to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the Senate and Assembly Education Committees, or the successor committees.

4. This act shall take effect immediately and the task force shall expire on the 30th day after the issuance of its final report.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a task force to be known as the Task Force on Underage Drinking in Higher Education. The task force will be comprised of 22 members including: the Chairman of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, or a designee; the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control in the Department of Law and Public Safety, or a designee; the Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety, or a designee; the Director of the Division of Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, or a designee; and 18 members to be appointed by the Governor. The gubernatorial appointments shall include: two college presidents; four vice-presidents or administrators of student affairs representing a county college, a State college established pursuant to chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, an independent institution of higher education, and a public research university; a chief of police of a campus police force of an institution of higher education in the State; a chief of police of a municipal police force that is responsible for policing an institution of higher education in the State; a director of a public safety department of an institution of higher education in the State; a representative of the New Jersey Prevention Network; a representative of the New Jersey chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving; and two college students, two representatives of the K-12 education community, two proprietors of establishments that sell or serve alcoholic beverages on or in close proximity to a college campus, and a member of the faculty of an institution of higher education in the State who has knowledge of and expertise in anti-underage drinking policies and programs in the higher education setting.

It will be the duty of the task force to study and develop recommendations regarding the most effective means of combating the consumption of alcohol by underage persons in the higher education setting. The task force will issue a final report containing its findings and recommendations, including any recommendations for legislation that it deems appropriate, no later than six months after the task force organizes, to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the Senate and Assembly Education Committees.