Bill Text: NJ A2964 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes program allowing NJ licensed drivers to self-identify as having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A2964 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A2964-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes program allowing NJ licensed drivers to self-identify as having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning law enforcement awareness of drivers diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. There is established a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Police Awareness Program to be administered by the Superintendent of the Division of State Police, as hereinafter provided, to allow licensed drivers of motor vehicles in this State to self-identify as having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Participation in the program shall be voluntary in nature and shall involve the following:
a. In order to apply to participate in the program, a New Jersey licensed driver shall, in the presence of the chief law enforcement officer of the driver's municipality of residence, or the officer's designee, submit a certification form, designed by the superintendent pursuant to the provisions of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and signed by the driver and a medical professional capable of diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder, certifying that the licensed driver has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by the medical professional.
b. Upon receiving the certification form from a licensed driver, the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality, or the officer's designee, shall issue a decal to the driver, designed by the superintendent and provided by the municipal police department and force. The decal shall be of a distinctive design and color. The driver shall affix the decal to the driver's motor vehicle in a conspicuous place, as prescribed by the superintendent.
2. Whenever any law enforcement officer stops a motor vehicle displaying a decal issued pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) that is being operated upon the public highways of this State, the officer shall take notice that the driver of the motor vehicle has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and shall appropriately proceed with the motor vehicle stop.
3. a. The Superintendent of the Division of State Police shall design the manner and form of the certification required under the provisions of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and shall conspicuously publish a copy of the certification form on the division's Internet website.
b. The chief law enforcement officer of any municipality shall make copies of the certification form available upon request and may publish a copy of the form on the municipality's Internet website.
4. a. The Superintendent
of the Division of State Police shall, in consultation with the New Jersey
Motor Vehicle Commission, establish and maintain a database of participants in
the
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Police Awareness Program, established pursuant
to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill), and make the database accessible to each municipal police
department and force and to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
b. The superintendent shall cooperate with and assist all municipal police departments and other agencies in developing training, policies, and procedures to assist law enforcement officers in approaching and interacting with drivers who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
5. The chief law enforcement officer of a municipality may charge a fee for the certification forms and decals provided pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The fee charged shall not exceed the actual costs incurred by the municipality in providing certification forms and decals and in administering the program authorized pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
6. The Superintendent of
the Division of State Police shall, in consultation with the Department of
Health and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, promulgate pursuant to the
provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations for the administration of the
program to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill).
7. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Police Awareness Program (program) that allows licensed drivers to self-identify as having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The Superintendent of the Division of State Police (superintendent) is required to administer the program and is required to adopt rules and regulations, in consultation with the Department of Health and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), for the administration of the program.
Under the bill, participation in the program is voluntary and allows licensed drivers to submit a certification form, designed by the superintendent, to a local police department. The form is to certify that the driver has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by the medical professional, and is required to be signed by the driver and a medical professional capable of diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder. Upon receiving the certification form, the local police department is required to issue a decal to the driver. The driver is required to affix the decal to the driver's motor vehicle in a conspicuous place, as prescribed by the superintendent.
Under the bill, whenever any law enforcement officer stops a motor vehicle displaying a decal, the officer is required to take notice that the driver of the motor vehicle has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and is required to appropriately proceed with the motor vehicle stop.
The bill requires the superintendent to conspicuously publish a copy of the certification form on the division's Internet website and requires the chief law enforcement officer of any municipality to make copies of the certification form available upon request. The bill further allows a municipality to publish a copy of the form on the municipality's Internet website. The bill allows a municipality to charge a fee related to the administration of the program.
Under the bill, the superintendent is required, in consultation with the MVC, to establish and maintain a database of participants in the program, and make the database accessible to each municipal police department and to the MVC. The superintendent is also required to cooperate with and assist municipal police departments and other agencies in developing training, policies, and procedures to assist law enforcement officers in approaching and interacting with drivers who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
