Bill Text: NJ A1330 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires reporting of first responder suicides to DOH.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee [A1330 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A1330-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CHRISTOPHER P. DEPHILLIPS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires reporting of first responder suicides to DOH.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning suicide and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The chief of a squad or association of first responders in this State, or the chief's designee, shall report within a reasonable time to the Department of Health, in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Health, any incident of a completed suicide by a first responder. The report shall include:
(1) the month and year during which the first responder's death occurred;
(2) the first responder's age, salary, and length of service as a first responder at the time of the first responder's death;
(3) the race and gender of the first responder;
(4) any known facts pertaining to the cause or method of suicide; and
(5) the military veteran status and level of education of the first responder;
b. The report required pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall not identify the first responder by name or date of birth.
c. The Commissioner of Health shall aggregate the data provided pursuant to subsection a. of this section, which aggregated data shall be made publicly available for use in suicide prevention and intervention studies.
d. The reporting of a suicide pursuant to this section shall not replace or alter any other requirement of law, professional standard, or obligation that requires the first responder squad or association to evaluate a death or report a suicide.
e. As used in this section, "first responder" means a paid or volunteer firefighter, paid or volunteer member of a duly incorporated first aid, emergency, ambulance, or rescue squad or association, or any other individual who, in the course of his or her employment, is dispatched to the scene of a motor vehicle accident or other emergency situation for the purpose of providing medical care or other assistance.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires reporting of first responder suicides to the Department of Health (DOH).
Under the bill, the chief of a squad or association of first responders in this State, or the chief's designee, is to report within a reasonable time to the DOH, in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Health (commissioner), any incident of a completed suicide by a first responder. The report is to include: (1) the month and year during which the first responder's death occurred; (2) the first responder's age, salary, and length of service as a first responder at the time of the first responder's death; (3) the race and gender of the first responder; (4) any known facts pertaining to the cause or method of suicide; and (5) the military veteran status and level of education of the first responder;
The bill provides that the commissioner is to aggregate the data provided pursuant to the bill's provisions, which is to be made publicly available for use in suicide prevention and intervention studies.
Under the bill, "first responder" means a paid or volunteer firefighter, paid or volunteer member of a duly incorporated first aid, emergency, ambulance, or rescue squad or association, or any other individual who, in the course of his or her employment, is dispatched to the scene of a motor vehicle accident or other emergency situation for the purpose of providing medical care or other assistance.
