Bill Text: NJ SR119 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges MVC to implement organ donation laws.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-16 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [SR119 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-SR119-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Urges MVC to implement organ donation laws.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution urging the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to implement statutory law regarding organ donation.
Whereas, Approximately 120,000 Americans, including 5,000 New Jersey residents, are currently waiting for an organ and tissue transplant, and every 10 minutes a person is added to the national transplant waiting list; and
Whereas, An average of 21 people die daily waiting for a transplant and a single organ donor can save as many as eight lives; and
Whereas, In 2008 the Legislature enacted the "New Jersey Hero Act" to help save lives in New Jersey by requiring a comprehensive organ donation framework, including mandatory educational and decisional components to increase the number of organ and tissue donors in the State; and
Whereas, The "New Jersey Hero Act" required the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to implement the Donate Life NJ Registry, an Internet-based interface to promote organ and tissue donation by providing a means to electronically designate organ donor status and have this status immediately integrated into the donor database; and
Whereas, The chief administrator is required pursuant to statutory law to provide an opportunity to designate organ donor status on an application for an initial or renewal driver's license or identification card; and
Whereas, The chief administrator is also required to provide certain organizations real-time electronic access to organ donor information at all times, without exception, and to include in the New Jersey driver's manual information concerning the benefits of organ donation and the procedure for indicating an organ donor designation on a driver's license; and
Whereas, Current reports indicate the commission is failing to adequately implement these statutory requirements; and
Whereas, Designating organ donor status through the Donate Life NJ Registry should be streamlined to be user-friendly, as the current process requires a person to create a User ID and provide other information which may deter completion of the registration process; and
Whereas, Reports indicate that an application for a non-driver identification card does not provide an opportunity to designate organ donor status; and
Whereas, Reports also indicate that the commission is not recording organ donor designations when a person renews a driver's license by mail; and
Whereas, The donor registry, which contains specific donor information and is used to determine whether a person is an organ donor, is not available on nights and weekends and information stored in the registry should include the date the organ donor designation was made; and
Whereas, The current driver's manual does not provide required information concerning organ donation and should be revised to include this information; and
Whereas, In 2013, New Jersey's donor designation rate was among the lowest in the nation which may be due in part to the commission's failure to properly and effectively implement organ donor requirements; and
Whereas, Since organ donation is vital to saving lives in New Jersey, and prompt designation of organ donor status and access to donor information is critical to successfully implementing the State's organ donation infrastructure, it is imperative that the chief administrator promptly and effectively implement statutory requirements concerning organ donation; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House urges the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to promptly and effectively implement statutory law concerning organ donation by providing and recording organ donor designation on initial and renewal driver's licenses and identification cards, streamlining Donate Life NJ Registry registration procedures, providing certain organizations with real-time access at all times, without exception, to the organ donor registry, and including organ donation information in the State's driver's manual.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to promptly and effectively implement statutory law concerning organ donation. Organ donation is essential to saving lives; a single donor can save as many as eight lives. Approximately 120,000 Americans, including 5,000 New Jersey residents, are currently waiting for a transplant. The Legislature recognized the importance of organ donation and enacted the "New Jersey Hero Act" in 2008 to implement a comprehensive organ donation framework, including requiring the chief administrator to create the Donate Life NJ Registry to provide residents with a means to electronically designate organ donor status.
The chief administrator is also required, pursuant to statute, to provide organ donor designation on an application for an initial and renewal driver's license and non-driver identification card and to provide real-time access at all times to donor information. Additionally, the chief administrator is required to include organ donor information in the State's driver's manual.
However, reports indicate that the chief administrator is failing to adequately implement these statutory requirements which may contribute to the State's low donor designation rate, as compared to other states. Therefore, this resolution urges the chief administrator to promptly and effectively implement statutory requirements concerning organ donation by providing and recording organ donor designation on initial and renewal driver's licenses and identification cards, streamlining Donate Life NJ Registry registration procedures, providing certain organizations with real-time access at all times, without exception, to the organ donor registry, and including organ donation information in the State's driver's manual.
