Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes mandatory, uniform attorney identification card.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing a mandatory, uniform attorney identification card, supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes, and amending P.L.2009, c.11.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. There is created a program to be known as the "Attorney Identification Card Program" which shall require all attorneys licensed to practice in the State of New Jersey to obtain a State identification card.
b. The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) shall promulgate rules and regulations for the "Attorney Identification Card Program" in consultation with the New Jersey Bar Association, the New Jersey Sheriff's Association, and the Attorney General. The uniform identification cards shall be issued by each county to attorneys maintaining a bona fide office within that county. The fee for the identification cards shall be $25.00 and the cards shall be renewable every five years.
2. Section 1 of P.L.2009, c.11 (C.40A:4-22.2) is amended to read as follows:
1. A county [may] shall establish a trust fund account entitled, "Attorney Identification Card Program" trust fund into which shall be deposited all fees paid by attorneys for the purchase of identification cards and from which expenditures shall be disbursed exclusively for the procurement of equipment, ongoing maintenance and supplies, and associated services necessary to issue the cards and to operate and maintain the system.
(cf: P.L.2009, c.11, s.1)
3. This act shall take effect 90 days following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill supplements Title 2A to create a mandatory, uniform "Attorney Identification Card Program." In 2005 the Attorney General announced the creation of such a program. Following negotiations with the New Jersey Bar Association, the New Jersey Sheriff's Association, and the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Attorney General agreed to a program under which the uniform attorney ID card was created and individual counties could choose whether to provide the card to attorneys maintaining offices within the county. At the present time not all counties are providing this service. This bill would require that each county launch the program and provide the ID cards, and that each attorney licensed in the State shall obtain an ID card. The fee associated with the card is $25.00 and the card is renewable every five years.
This bill also amends P.L.2009, c.11 (C.40A:4-22.2) to require that each county establish a trust fund account entitled, "Attorney Identification Card Program" trust fund into which shall be deposited all fees paid by attorneys for the purchase of identification cards and from which expenditures shall be disbursed exclusively for the procurement of equipment, ongoing maintenance and supplies, and associated services necessary to issue the cards and to operate and maintain the system. At the present time establishing such a trust fund account is permitted, not mandatory.