Bill Text: NJ A4732 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires defibrillators in certain multiple dwellings; establishes Affordable Housing Defibrillator Fund.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-09-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee [A4732 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4732-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman MICHAEL VENEZIA
District 34 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires defibrillators in certain multiple dwellings; establishes Affordable Housing Defibrillator Fund.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning health and safety in certain multiple dwellings by requiring equipping with defibrillators, creating a related grant fund, and supplementing P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section, "urban municipality" means: a municipality with a population of 50,000 or more, according to the most recent federal decennial census.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, beginning on the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Department of Community Affairs shall ensure that:
(1) each multiple dwelling consisting of 30 units or more and located within an urban municipality is equipped with an automated external defibrillator, as defined in section 2 of P.L.1999, c.34 (C.2A:62A-24), which is made available in an unlocked location with an appropriate sign. The defibrillator shall be accessible by all residents and guests within the multiple dwelling property at all times;
(2) each defibrillator is tested and maintained according to the manufacturer's operational guidelines and notification is provided to the appropriate first aid, ambulance, or rescue squad or other appropriate emergency medical services provider regarding the defibrillator, the type acquired, and its location in accordance with section 3 of P.L.1999, c.34 (C.2A:62A-25);
c. A landlord shall provide to each tenant information specifying the location of the defibrillator. Any posted or distributed map of the multiple dwelling property shall clearly mark the location of the defibrillator.
d. Residents and employees of a multiple dwelling shall be immune from civil liability in the acquisition and use of defibrillators as provided pursuant to the provisions of section 5 of P.L.1999, c.34 (C.2A:62A-27).
2. The Affordable Housing Defibrillator Fund is established as a nonlapsing fund in the Department of Community Affairs to provide grants to owners of inclusionary developments, as defined in subsection f. of section 4 of P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-304), to provide grants to owners of such buildings to conform to the requirements of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The fund shall be administered by the department and credited with any appropriations made thereto and any sums received as voluntary contributions from any public or private sources. Each year, the department shall request of the Legislature the amount of funding required to meet the needs for the award of grants from the fund.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment, except that the Commissioner of Community Affairs may take anticipatory action to effectuate the provisions of the bill.
STATEMENT
This bill would require a multiple dwelling of 30 units or more located within a municipality with a population of 50,000 or greater to have an automated external defibrillator (defibrillator) accessible on the property. The bill includes certain signage and notification requirements and specifies certain legal protections in the case of use of a defibrillator. The bill also establishes a fund in the Department of Community Affairs to provide grants to the owners of multiple dwellings affected by the bill which provide affordable housing. The bill would take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment.
This bill would increase the availability and use of defibrillators in emergencies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are reported annually in the United States, and in 70 to 90 percent of cases the person dies before reaching a hospital. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) use increases the rate of survival. This bill would increase access to these life-saving devices in certain multiple dwellings.
