Bill Text: NJ S3109 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires signs to be posted in emergency rooms regarding Victims of Crime Compensation Office.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-10-18 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S3109 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S3109-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator DECLAN J. O'SCANLON, JR.
District 13 (Monmouth)
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires signs to be posted in emergency rooms regarding Victims of Crime Compensation Office.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the Victims of Crime Compensation Office and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Health, in collaboration with the Attorney General, shall develop, prepare, and produce signs displaying information relating to the Victims of Crime Compensation Office.
b. The signs shall be clearly written and readily comprehensible and shall provide information concerning:
(1) the services and benefits offered by the Victims of Crime Compensation Office;
(2) contact information for the Victims of Crime Compensation Office; and
(3) the procedures for filing a victims' compensation claim.
c. The Commissioner of Health shall require two signs, one in English and one in Spanish, prepared in accordance with subsections a. and b. of this section to be posted in a conspicuous place in every emergency department of a general hospital and satellite emergency department licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires signs with information on compensation and services available to certain crime victims through the Victims of Crime Compensation Office (VCCO) to be displayed in all hospital and satellite emergency departments in this State.
The VCCO provides compensation and services to certain crime victims; surviving spouses, parents, or guardians of crime victims; and people who were injured while trying to prevent a crime or assist a police officer in making an arrest. Reportedly, the office has distributed only a portion of State and federal funds available to victims, and returned over $380,000 of unspent federal victims' assistance grant monies.
According to the sponsor, eligible victims and their families often are unaware that they may apply for compensation from the office. Under the bill, the Commissioner of Health is required, in collaboration with the Attorney General, to develop, prepare, and produce signs that display information relating to the VCCO. The signs are required to contain information concerning the services and benefits offered by the office, contact information for the office, and the procedures for filing a victims' compensation claim.
The Commissioner of Health is to require two signs to be posted, one in English and one in Spanish, in a conspicuous place in every emergency department of a general hospital and satellite emergency department licensed in this State.
