Bill Text: NJ A3504 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits pre-trial county inmates charged with first, second, or third degree crimes from being placed in halfway houses.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-12-03 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee [A3504 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A3504-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CHARLES MAINOR
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman GILBERT "WHIP" L. WILSON
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman NELSON T. ALBANO
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman SEAN CONNORS
District 33 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Johnson
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits pre-trial county inmates charged with first, second, or third degree crimes from being placed in halfway houses.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning county correctional inmates and supplementing chapter 8 of Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. A county inmate against whom a charge for a crime of the first, second, or third degree is pending and for which there is no final disposition shall be housed in the adult county correctional facility and shall not be transferred to any residential community release program facility prior to sentencing.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits county inmates who are being held while awaiting trial for a crime of the first, second, or third degree to be transferred to a residential community release program facility. These programs include assessment and treatment centers, halfway houses, and substance abuse treatment programs.
According to the sponsor, several counties are housing pre-trial county inmates in halfway houses rather than in county jails. It is inappropriate to house inmates charged with serious offenses with inmates in halfway houses who are preparing to reenter society. These inmates should remain in the county jail until they have been sentenced.
