Bill Text: NJ A1733 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires public bodies upon request to provide American Sign Language interpreter at public meetings.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A1733 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A1733-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblyman NICHOLAS CHIARAVALLOTI
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Murphy
SYNOPSIS
Requires public bodies upon request to provide American Sign Language interpreter at public meetings.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act requiring public bodies upon request to provide an American Sign Language interpreter at public meetings and amending and supplementing P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) A public body, at the request of any deaf person or hearing impaired person, or of any other person acting on behalf thereof, that is made to the clerk or chief administrative officer of that public body at least 24 hours prior to a public meeting of the public body, shall make available at that meeting the services of an American Sign Language interpreter who shall translate the words spoken at the meeting into American Sign Language for the benefit of the requestor and any other deaf person or hearing-impaired person present at the meeting. The interpreter shall also translate into spoken words for the members of the public body and members of the public present at the meeting any questions or comments of any deaf person or hearing-impaired person present at the public meeting during any part of the public meeting that is open for questions or comments by members of the public.
Every public body in this State shall include as part of adequate notice, as defined in section 3 of P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-8), for any public meeting of that public body, as well as on the schedule of regular meetings of the public body during the succeeding year required to be posted pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-18), written notice that translation services for deaf persons or hearing impaired persons shall be made available at a public meeting upon the request of such a person, or by any other person acting on behalf thereof, that is made to the clerk or chief administrative officer of such public body at least 24 hours prior to the public meeting.
As used in this section:
"deaf person" means any person whose hearing is so severely impaired that the person is unable to hear and understand normal conversational speech through the unaided ear alone, and who must depend primarily on a supportive device or visual communication such as writing, lip reading, sign language, and gestures; and
"hearing impaired
person" means a person whose hearing is impaired so as to prohibit the
person from understanding oral communication and includes a person who, because
of loss of hearing, cannot communicate in spoken language.
2. Section 3 of P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-8) s amended to read as follows:
3. As used in this act:
a. "Public body" means a commission, authority, board, council, committee or any other group of two or more persons organized under the laws of this State, and collectively empowered as a voting body to perform a public governmental function affecting the rights, duties, obligations, privileges, benefits, or other legal relations of any person, or collectively authorized to spend public funds including the Legislature, but does not mean or include the judicial branch of the government, any grand or petit jury, any parole board or any agency or body acting in a parole capacity, the State Commission of Investigation, the Apportionment Commission established under Article IV, Section III, of the Constitution, or any political party committee organized under Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
b. "Meeting" means and includes any gathering whether corporeal or by means of communication equipment, which is attended by, or open to, all of the members of a public body, held with the intent, on the part of the members of the body present, to discuss or act as a unit upon the specific public business of that body. Meeting does not mean or include any such gathering (1) attended by less than an effective majority of the members of a public body, or (2) attended by or open to all the members of three or more similar public bodies at a convention or similar gathering.
c. "Public business" means and includes all matters which relate in any way, directly or indirectly, to the performance of the public body's functions or the conduct of its business.
d. "Adequate notice" means written advance notice of at least 48 hours, giving the time, date, location and, to the extent known, the agenda of any regular, special or rescheduled meeting, which notice shall accurately state whether formal action may or may not be taken and which shall be (1) prominently posted in at least one public place reserved for such or similar announcements, (2) mailed, telephoned, telegrammed, or hand delivered to at least two newspapers which newspapers shall be designated by the public body to receive such notices because they have the greatest likelihood of informing the public within the area of jurisdiction of the public body of such meetings, one of which shall be the official newspaper, where any such has been designated by the public body or if the public body has failed to so designate, where any has been designated by the governing body of the political subdivision whose geographic boundaries are coextensive with that of the public body and (3) filed with the clerk of the municipality when the public body's geographic boundaries are coextensive with that of a single municipality, with the clerk of the county when the public body's geographic boundaries are coextensive with that of a single county, and with the Secretary of State if the public body has Statewide jurisdiction. For any other public body the filing shall be with the clerk or chief administrative officer of such other public body and each municipal or county clerk of each municipality or county encompassed within the jurisdiction of such public body. Where annual notice or revisions thereof in compliance with section 13 of this act set forth the location of any meeting, no further notice shall be required for such meeting.
The written advance notice provided for by this subsection shall include a statement that the public body shall make available at that public meeting the services of an American Sign Language interpreter, as provided by section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), upon the request of a deaf or hearing impaired person, or of any other person acting on behalf thereof, that is made to the clerk or chief administrative officer of that public body at least 24 hours prior to a public meeting of that public body.
(cf: P.L.1981, c.176, s.2)
3. Section 13 of P.L.1975, c.231 (10:4-18) is amended to read as follows:
13. At least once each year, within 7 days following the annual organization or reorganization meeting of a public body, or if there be no such organization or reorganization meeting in the year, then by not later than January 10 of such year, every public body shall post and maintain posted throughout the year in the place described in subsection 3. d. (1), mail to the newspapers described in subsection 3. d. (2), submit to the persons described in subsection 3. d. (3), for the purpose of public inspection a schedule of the regular meetings of the public body to be held during the succeeding year. Such schedule shall contain the location of each meeting to the extent it is known, and the time and date of each meeting. In the event that such schedule is thereafter revised, the public body, within 7 days following such revision, shall post, mail and submit such revision in the manner described above.
The schedule of regular meetings of a public body provided for by this section shall include a statement that the public body shall make available at its public meetings the services of an American Sign Language interpreter, as provided by section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), upon the request of a deaf or hearing impaired person, or of any other person acting on behalf thereof, that is made to the clerk or chief administrative officer of that public body at least 24 hours prior to a public meeting of that public body.
(cf: P.L.1975, c.231, s.13)
4. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require a public body to make available at any public meeting of that public body the services of an American Sign Language interpreter upon the request of a deaf or hearing-impaired person that is made at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. It would also require public bodies to post notice of the availability of this service on written advance notice of meetings and on the annual notice of regularly scheduled meetings that under existing law public bodies are required to post.
