Bill Text: NJ A2310 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires gubernatorial and legislative candidate and joint candidates committees to adopt anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-27 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A2310 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A2310-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Requires gubernatorial and legislative candidate and joint candidates committees to adopt anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies for certain candidates for elective public office and members of their campaign staff, and supplementing Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. For the purposes of this section,
"Campaign staff" means any person, whether paid or unpaid, rendering personal, clerical, administrative or professional services, including, without limitation, public relations, research, legal, canvassing, telephone, speech writing or other such services.
"Candidate committee" and "joint candidates committee" shall have the meanings prescribed for those terms by section 3 of P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-3).
b. Each candidate committee or joint candidates committee for a candidate, or candidates, for the Senate, the General Assembly, or the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor shall adopt and maintain a policy that: outlines prohibited conduct; defines discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment; requires compliance with the policy; requires that appropriate measures be taken to ensure that prohibited conduct does not occur; and provides procedures for the reporting, investigation, final determination, remediation, and discipline of prohibited conduct. The policy shall include provisions regarding confidentiality, retaliation, and false accusations. The policy shall be specific to the unique dynamics of a political campaign.
The policy shall be distributed to all members of the candidate committee's or joint candidates committee's campaign staff upon commencement of a member's participation in the campaign and within five business days of any modification to the policy.
The candidate or joint candidates and members of campaign staff shall receive training on the policy and shall submit a certification denoting completion to the committee. All certifications of completion shall be public records.
c. The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission shall adopt, by January 1 next following enactment of this act, P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and make available a model policy that conforms to the requirements of subsection b. of this section.
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission shall adopt, by January 1 next following enactment, rules and regulations governing the use of campaign funds to achieve compliance with and provide anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training pursuant to this section. The rules shall be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law and shall be effective for a period not to exceed 18 months, and may, thereafter, be amended, adopted or readopted in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
2. This act shall take effect on January 1 of the calendar year next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires a candidate committee or joint candidates committee for a candidate, or candidates, for the Senate, the General Assembly, or the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor to adopt an anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy.
The bill requires those candidate committees or joint candidates committees to adopt and maintain a policy that is specific to the unique dynamics of a political campaign and that: outlines prohibited conduct; defines discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment; requires compliance with the policy; requires that appropriate measures be taken to ensure that prohibited conduct does not occur; and provides procedures for the reporting, investigation, final determination, remediation, and discipline of prohibited conduct. The policy must include provisions regarding confidentiality, retaliation, and false accusations.
The policy is to be distributed to all members of the committee's campaign staff upon commencement of participation in the campaign and within five business days of any modification to the policy. The candidate or joint candidates and members of campaign staff are to receive training on the policy and submit a certification of completion to the committee, which will be a public record.
The bill directs the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission to adopt and make available a model policy that conforms to the requirements of the bill that may be used by the committees.
