Sponsored by:
Senator STEPHEN M. SWEENEY
District 3 (Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns insertion and retention of microchips in individuals.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the use of implantable microchips in individuals 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. No person shall:
(1) require that an individual, as a condition of receiving health care or other services or benefits, or for any other reason, have a microchip subdermally or otherwise implanted in, or attached to, that individual for the purpose of providing radio frequency identification or access to medical or other databases; or
(2) participate in, or arrange, the implantation in, or attachment to, an individual of such a device without the individual’s written and informed consent, or the written and informed consent of the individual’s parent or guardian in the case of an individual who is a minor.
b. An individual with respect to whom a microchip is implanted or attached as described in subsection a. of this section, or the individual’s parent or guardian in the case of an individual who is a minor, shall be entitled to have the microchip removed at any time after its implantation or attachment, upon the request of the individual or the individual’s parent or guardian, as applicable.
c. A person who violates the provisions of this act is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits any person from:
-- requiring that an individual, as a condition of receiving health care or other services or benefits, or for any other reason, have a microchip subdermally or otherwise implanted in, or attached to that individual, for the purpose of providing radio frequency identification or access to medical or other databases; or
-- participating in, or arranging, the implantation in, or attachment to, an individual of such a device without the individual’s written and informed consent, or the written and informed written consent of the individual’s parent or guardian in the case of an individual who is a minor.
The bill further stipulates that an individual with respect to whom a microchip is implanted or attached as described in the bill, or the individual’s parent or guardian in the case of an individual who is a minor, is entitled to have the microchip removed at any time after its implantation or attachment, upon the request of the individual or the individual’s parent or guardian, as applicable.
A person who violates the provisions of the bill is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree (which is punishable by imprisonment for up to 18 months or a fine of up to $10,000, or both).
The intent of this bill is to provide statutory protection, which would supplement the common law right of bodily integrity, against an intrusion into the privacy rights of an individual by the mandatory insertion or retention of an implantable microchip as described in the bill.