Bill Text: NJ S4140 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "Honoring and Listening to Our First Responders Act"; establishes offense of interfering with official duties of first responder under certain circumstances.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-20 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S4140 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S4140-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
"Honoring and Listening to Our First Responders Act"; establishes offense of interfering with official duties of first responder under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning protections for first responders and supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Honoring and Listening to Our First Responders Act" or the "HALO Act."
b. As used in this section:
"First responder" means a law enforcement officer, paid or volunteer firefighter, or paid or volunteer member of a duly incorporated first aid, emergency, ambulance, or rescue squad association.
c. A person is guilty of a disorderly persons offense if, despite having received instruction from a first responder acting in the performance of the first responder's official duties to maintain distance, the person knowingly approaches or remains within a distance of less than 25 feet of the first responder with the purpose to:
(1) obstruct, impair, or interfere with the performance of the first responder's official duties; or
(2) interfere with the first responder's performance of official duties by threatening, intimidating, or harassing the first responder.
d. This section shall not preclude the prosecution and conviction of a person under any other applicable provision of law.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the "Honoring and Listening to Our First Responders Act" or the "HALO Act."
This bill provides that it is a disorderly persons offense for a person to disregard a request from a first responder to maintain distance and to knowingly approach or remain within 25 feet of the first responder with the purpose to:
· obstruct, impair, or interfere with the first responder's performance of official duties; or
· interfere with the first responder's performance of official duties by threatening, intimidating, or harassing the first responder.
Under the bill, "first responder" would include any law enforcement officer, paid or volunteer firefighter, or paid or volunteer member of a duly incorporated first aid, emergency, ambulance, or rescue squad association.
A disorderly persons offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
The bill provides that prosecution and conviction for an offense under the bill would not preclude the prosecution and conviction of a person under any other applicable provision of law.
