Bill Text: NJ S3441 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes survivor support liaison in Department of Treasury to assist beneficiaries of emergency responders who die in line of duty; "designated as Captain Augusto Acabou's, Wayne Brooks', and Plainfield Firefighter Marques Hudson's act"; appropriates $1,000,000.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-13 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S3441 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3441-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex)
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes survivor support liaison in Department of Treasury to assist beneficiaries of emergency responders who die in line of duty; designated as "Captain Augusto Acabou's, Wayne Brooks', and Plainfield Firefighter Marques Hudson's act"; appropriates $1,000,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning emergency responders who die in the line of duty, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. As used in this act, "emergency responder" means a State, county, or municipal law enforcement officer, paid or volunteer firefighter, or other person who has been trained to provide emergency medical first response services in a program recognized by the Commissioner of Health and licensed or otherwise authorized by the Department of Health to provide those services.
b. There is established in the Department of Treasury an Office of Emergency Responder Survivor Support and Navigation, which shall be responsible for providing information concerning the available benefits to the beneficiaries of any emergency responder who has died in the line of duty. The office shall be led by a survivor support liaison and consist of at least three additional employees, all of whom shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Treasurer and have been beneficiaries of first responders who have died in the line of duty. The office shall perform its work remotely and not have a physical location. The office shall be responsible for:
(1) assisting beneficiaries with applications for municipal, State, and federal government benefits;
(2) assisting beneficiaries with applications for survivor benefits through private survivor benefit programs and scholarship programs;
(3) providing beneficiaries with a summary of the nature and amount of benefits for which they are eligible;
(4) maintaining contact with the beneficiaries and assisting with any questions or requests during the application process for available benefits; and
(5) any other responsibility as determined by the commissioner.
c. The commissioner may adopt any guidelines deemed necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
2. There is annually appropriated from the General Fund the sum of $1,000,000 to effectuate the purposes of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes in the Department of Treasury an Office of Emergency Responder Survivor Support and Navigation, which would be responsible for providing information concerning the available benefits to the beneficiaries of any emergency responder who has died in the line of duty. The bill defines "emergency responder" as a State, county, or municipal law enforcement officer, paid or volunteer firefighter, or other person who has been trained to provide emergency medical first response services in a program recognized by the Commissioner of Health and licensed or otherwise authorized by the Department of Health to provide those services
The bill provides that the office would be led by a survivor support liaison and consist of at least an additional three employees, all of whom are to be beneficiaries of first responders who have died in the line of duty. The office would be responsible for providing beneficiaries with a summary of the nature and amount of benefits for which they are eligible. The bill also requires the office to maintain contact with the beneficiaries and assist with any questions or requests during the application process for available benefits.
The bill is designated as the "designated as Captain Augusto Acabou's, Wayne Brooks', and Plainfield Firefighter Marques Hudson's act" in honor of Captains Acabou and Brooks who tragically lost their lives in the line of duty while responding to the cargo ship fire at Port Newark. The designation also honors firefighter, Marques Hudson, who died in a house fire in Plainfield, NJ.
