Bill Text: NJ A3076 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Allows person calling certain State or local government entities to have option of speaking or leaving recorded message with human telephone operator during normal business hours.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A3076 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2024-A3076-Introduced.html

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ASSEMBLY, No. 3076

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  DONALD A. GUARDIAN

District 2 (Atlantic)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Allows person calling certain State or local government entities to have option of speaking or leaving recorded message with human telephone operator during normal business hours.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

  

An Act concerning telephone services of certain government agencies and supplementing Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes and Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

 

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

 

     1.    Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a local unit, that is required by law, rule, or regulation to provide the public with a telephone number as a point of contact with that local unit or an employee of that local unit, employs an automated telephone answering service to meet this requirement, shall allow a person who contacts the local unit by telephone during normal business hours to have the option of pressing zero on the person's telephone in order to speak or leave a recorded message with a human telephone operator.  "Local unit" means a municipality, county or other political subdivision of this State, or any agency thereof.

 

     2.    Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a State agency, that is required by law, rule, or regulation to provide the public with a telephone number as a point of contact with that agency or an employee of that agency, and that employs an automated telephone answering service to meet this requirement, shall allow a person who contacts the State agency by telephone during normal business hours to have the option of pressing zero on the person's telephone in order to speak or leave a recorded message with a human telephone operator.  "State agency" means the Judicial, Legislative or Executive branch of the State of New Jersey, including but not limited to any department, board, bureau, commission, division, office, council, agency, or instrumentality thereof, or independent agency, public authority or public benefit corporation.

 

     3.    This act shall take effect on the 90th day after the date of enactment, but a State agency or a local unit may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill requires a State agency or local unit, as those terms are defined in the bill, that is required by law, rule or regulation to provide the public with a telephone number as a point of contact with that agency or local unit or an employee of that agency or local unit, and that employs an automated telephone answering service to meet this requirement, to allow a person who contacts the State agency or local unit, as appropriate, by telephone during normal business hours to have the option of pressing zero on the person's telephone in order to speak or leave a recorded message with a human telephone operator.