Bill Text: NJ A808 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits municipal court to order certain offenders to perform community service in lieu of payment of penalty.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Failed) 2014-02-20 - Withdrawn from Consideration [A808 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A808-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman GORDON M. JOHNSON
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Diegnan and C.A.Brown
SYNOPSIS
Permits municipal court to order certain offenders to perform community service in lieu of payment of penalty.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning municipal court and amending P.L.2009, c.317.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2009, c.317 (C.2B:12-23.1) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if a municipal court finds that a person does not have the ability to pay a penalty in full on the date of the hearing or has failed to pay a previously imposed penalty, the court may order the person to perform community service in lieu of the payment of a penalty; or, order the payment of the penalty in installments for a period of time determined by the court. If a person defaults on any payment and a municipal court finds that the defendant does not have the ability to pay, the court may:
(1) reduce the penalty, suspend the penalty, or modify the installment plan;
(2) order that credit be given against the amount owed for each day of confinement, if the court finds that the person has served jail time for the default;
(3) revoke any unpaid portion of the penalty, if the court finds that the circumstances that warranted the imposition have changed or that it would be unjust to require payment;
(4) order the person to perform community service in lieu of payment of the penalty; or
(5) impose any other alternative permitted by law in lieu of payment of the penalty.
b. For the purposes of this section, "penalty" means any fine, statutorily-mandated assessment, surcharge or other financial penalty imposed by a municipal court, except restitution or a surcharge assessed pursuant to subsection f. of section 1 of P.L.2000, c.75 (C.39:4-97.2).
(cf: P.L.2009, c.317, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends section 1 of P.L.2009, c.317 (C.2B:12-23.1), to give the municipal court the authority to impose community service in lieu of the payment of a penalty, as an initial order.
At present, the municipal court can order an offender to perform community service only after there has been a finding that the person can not pay a penalty in full or has defaulted on an installment payment.
