P.L.2003, c.246 (A3743 2R)

CHAPTER 246

An Act establishing the rights and responsibilities of domestic partners, and revising parts of the statutory law.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

C.26:8A-1 Short title.

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Domestic Partnership Act."

C.26:8A-2 Findings, declarations relative to domestic partners.

2. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. There are a significant number of individuals in this State who choose to live together in important personal, emotional and economic committed relationships with another individual;

b. These familial relationships, which are known as domestic partnerships, assist the State by their establishment of a private network of support for the financial, physical and emotional health of their participants;

c. Because of the material and other support that these familial relationships provide to their participants, the Legislature believes that these mutually supportive relationships should be formally recognized by statute, and that certain rights and benefits should be made available to individuals participating in them, including: statutory protection against various forms of discrimination against domestic partners; certain visitation and decision-making rights in a health care setting; and certain tax-related benefits; and, in some cases, health and pension benefits that are provided in the same manneras for spouses;

d All persons in domestic partnerships should be entitled to certain rights and benefits that are accorded to married couples under the laws of New Jersey, including: statutory protection through the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.) against various forms of discrimination based on domestic partnership status, such as employment, housing and credit discrimination; visitation rights for a hospitalized domestic partner and the right to make medical or legal decisions for an incapacitated partner; and an additional exemption from the personal income tax and the transfer inheritance tax on the same basis as a spouse. The need for all persons who are in domestic partnerships, regardless of their sex, to have access to these rights and benefits is paramount in view of their essential relationship to any reasonable conception of basic human dignity and autonomy, and the extent to which they will play an integral role in enabling these persons to enjoy their familial relationships as domestic partners and to cope with adversity when a medical emergency arises that affects a domestic partnership, as was painfully but graphically illustrated on a large scale in the aftermath of the tragic events that befell the people of our State and region on September 11, 2001;

e. The Legislature, however, discerns a clear and rational basis for making certain health and pension benefits available to dependent domestic partners only in the case of domestic partnerships in which both persons are of the same sex and are therefore unable to enter into a marriage with each other that is recognized by New Jersey law, unlike persons of the opposite sex who are in a domestic partnership but have the right to enter into a marriage that is recognized by State law and thereby have access to these health and pension benefits; and

f. Therefore, it is the public policy of this State to hereby establish and define the rights and responsibilities of domestic partners.

C.26:8A-3 Definitions relative to domestic partners.

3. As used in sections 1 through 9 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-1 through C.26:8A-9) and in R.S.26:8-1 et seq.:

"Affidavit of Domestic Partnership" means an affidavit that sets forth each party's name and age, the parties' common mailing address, and a statement that, at the time the affidavit is signed, both parties meet the requirements of this act for entering into a domestic partnership and wish to enter into a domestic partnership with each other.

"Basic living expenses" means the cost of basic food and shelter, and any other cost, including, but not limited to, the cost of health care, if some or all of the cost is paid as a benefit because a person is another person's domestic partner.

"Certificate of Domestic Partnership" means a certificate that includes: the full names of the domestic partners, a statement that the two individuals are members of a registered domestic partnership recognized by the State of New Jersey, the date that the domestic partnership was entered into, and a statement that the partners are entitled to all the rights, privileges and responsibilities accorded to domestic partners under the law. The certificate shall bear the seal of the State of New Jersey.

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services.

"Domestic partner" or "partner" means a person who is in a relationship that satisfies the definition of a domestic partnership as set forth in this act.

"Have a common residence" means that two persons share the same place to live in this State, or share the same place to live in another jurisdiction when at least one of the persons is a member of a State-administered retirement system, regardless of whether or not: the legal right to possess the place is in both of their names; one or both persons have additional places to live; or one person temporarily leaves the shared place of residence to reside elsewhere, on either a short-term or long-term basis, for reasons that include, but are not limited to, medical care, incarceration, education, a sabbatical or employment, but intends to return to the shared place of residence.

"Jointly responsible" means that each domestic partner agrees to provide for the other partner's basic living expenses if the other partner is unable to provide for himself.

"Notice of Rights and Obligations of Domestic Partners" means a form that advises domestic partners, or persons seeking to become domestic partners, of the procedural requirements for establishing, maintaining, and terminating a domestic partnership, and includes information about the rights and responsibilities of the partners.

C.26:8A-4 Affidavit of Domestic Partnership; establishment, requirements.

4. a. Two persons who desire to become domestic partners and meet the requirements of subsection b. of this section may execute and file an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership with the local registrar upon payment of a fee, in an amount to be determined by the commissioner, which shall be deposited in the General Fund. Each person shall receive a copy of the affidavit marked "filed."

b. A domestic partnership shall be established when all of the following requirements are met:

(1) Both persons have a common residence and are otherwise jointly responsible for each other's common welfare as evidenced by joint financial arrangements or joint ownership of real or personal property, which shall be demonstrated by at least one of the following:

(a) a joint deed, mortgage agreement or lease;

(b) a joint bank account;

(d) designation of one of the persons as a primary beneficiary in the other person's life insurance policy or retirement plan; or

(e) joint ownership of a motor vehicle;

(2) Both persons agree to be jointly responsible for each other's basic living expenses during the domestic partnership;

(3) Neither person is in a marriage recognized by New Jersey law or a member of another domestic partnership;

(4) Neither person is related to the other by blood or affinity up to and including the fourth degree of consanguinity;

(5) Both persons are of the same sex and therefore unable to enter into a marriage with each other that is recognized by New Jersey law, except that two persons who are each 62 years of age or older and not of the same sex may establish a domestic partnership if they meet the requirements set forth in this section;

(6) Both persons have chosen to share each other's lives in a committed relationship of mutual caring;

(7) Both persons are at least 18 years of age;

(8) Both persons file jointly an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership; and

(9) Neither person has been a partner in a domestic partnership that was terminated less than 180 days prior to the filing of the current Affidavit of Domestic Partnership, except that this prohibition shall not apply if one of the partners died; and, in all cases in which a person registered a prior domestic partnership, the domestic partnership shall have been terminated in accordance with the provisions of section 10 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-10).

c. A person who executes an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership in violation of the provisions of subsection b. of this section shall be liable to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000. The penalty shall be sued for and collected pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).

C.26:8A-5 Notice of termination of domestic partnerships to third parties; requirements.

5. a. A former domestic partner who has given a copy of the Certificate of Domestic Partnership to any third party to qualify for any benefit or right and whose receipt of that benefit or enjoyment of that right has not otherwise terminated, shall, upon termination of the domestic partnership, give or send to the third party, at the last known address of the third party, written notification that the domestic partnership has been terminated. A third party that suffers a loss as a result of failure by a domestic partner to provide this notice shall be entitled to seek recovery from the partner who was obligated to send the notice for any actual loss resulting thereby.

b. Failure to provide notice to a third party, as required pursuant to this section, shall not delay or prevent the termination of the domestic partnership.

C.26:8A-6 Obligations of domestic partners.

6. a. The obligations that two people have to each other as a result of creating a domestic partnership shall be limited to the provisions of this act, and those provisions shall not diminish any right granted under any other provision of law.

b. Upon the termination of a domestic partnership, the domestic partners, from that time forward, shall incur none of the obligations to each other as domestic partners that are created by this or any other act.

c. A domestic partnership, civil union or reciprocal beneficiary relationship entered into outside of this State, which is valid under the laws of the jurisdiction under which the partnership was created, shall be valid in this State.

d. Any health care or social services provider, employer, operator of a place of public accommodation, property owner or administrator, or other individual or entity may treat a person as a member of a domestic partnership, notwithstanding the absence of an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership filed pursuant to this act.

e. Domestic partners may modify the rights and obligations to each other that are granted by this act in any valid contract between themselves, except for the requirements for a domestic partnership as set forth in section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4).

f. Two adults who have not filed an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership shall be treated as domestic partners in an emergency medical situation for the purposes of allowing one adult to accompany the other adult who is ill or injured while the latter is being transported to a hospital, or to visit the other adult who is a hospital patient, on the same basis as a member of the latter's immediate family, if both persons, or one of the persons in the event that the other person is legally or medically incapacitated, advise the emergency care provider that the two persons have met the other requirements for establishing a domestic partnership as set forth in section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4); however, the provisions of this section shall not be construed to permit the two adults to be treated as domestic partners for any other purpose as provided in P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-1 et al.) prior to their having filed an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership.

g. A domestic partner shall not be liable for the debts of the other partner contracted before establishment of the domestic partnership, or contracted by the other partner in his own name during the domestic partnership. The partner who contracts for the debt in his own name shall be liable to be sued separately in his own name, and any property belonging to that partner shall be liable to satisfy that debt in the same manner as if the partner had not entered into a domestic partnership.

C.26:8A-7 Preparation of forms and notices.

7. a. The commissioner shall cause to be prepared, in such a manner as the commissioner determines appropriate:

(1) blank forms, in quadruplicate, of Affidavits of Domestic Partnership and Certificates of Domestic Partnership corresponding to the requirements of this act; and

(2) copies of the Notice of the Rights and Obligations of Domestic Partners.

b. The commissioner shall ensure that these forms and notices, along with such sections of the laws concerning domestic partnership and explanations thereof as the commissioner may deem useful to persons having duties to recognize domestic partners under those laws, are printed and supplied to each local registrar, and made available to the public upon request.

C.26:8A-8 Duties of local registrar.

8. a. The local registrar shall:

(1) stamp each completed Affidavit of Domestic Partnership received with the date of its receipt and the name of the registration district in which it is filed; and

(2) immediately provide two copies of the stamped Affidavit of Domestic Partnership to the person who files that document.

b. Upon the filing of an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership and payment of the appropriate filing fee, the local registrar shall immediately complete a Certificate of Domestic Partnership with the domestic partners' relevant information and the date that the domestic partnership was established. The local registrar shall then issue to the domestic partners two copies of the certificate and two copies of the Notice of the Rights and Obligations of Domestic Partners. Copies of the Certificate of Domestic Partnership shall be prepared and recorded in the local registrar's records and with the State registrar.

c. Each local registrar shall, on or before the 10th day of each calendar month, or sooner if requested by the Department of Health and Senior Services, transmit to the State registrar the original of all the Affidavits of Domestic Partnership and Certificates of Domestic Partnership received or prepared by the local registrar for the preceding month.

C.26:8A-9 Duties of State registrar.

9. The State registrar shall cause all Affidavits of Domestic Partnership and Certificates of Domestic Partnership received to be alphabetically indexed by the surname of one of the partners, and shall establish a cross-referencing system to allow the records to be identified by the surname of the second partner. The State registrar shall also cause to be transcribed or otherwise recorded from the certificates any of the vital facts appearing thereon as the commissioner may deem necessary or useful.

C.26:8A-10 Jurisdiction of Superior Court relative to termination of domestic partnerships.

10. a. (1) The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction over all proceedings relating to the termination of a domestic partnership established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4), including the division and distribution of jointly held property. The fees for filing an action or proceeding for the termination of a domestic partnership shall be the same as those for filing an action or proceeding for divorce pursuant to N.J.S.22A:2-12.

(2) The termination of a domestic partnership may be adjudged for the following causes:

(a) voluntary sexual intercourse between a person who is in a domestic partnership and an individual other than the person's domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3);

(b) willful and continued desertion for a period of 12 or more consecutive months, which may be established by satisfactory proof that the parties have ceased to cohabit as domestic partners;

(c) extreme cruelty, which is defined as including any physical or mental cruelty that endangers the safety or health of the plaintiff or makes it improper or unreasonable to expect the plaintiff to continue to cohabit with the defendant; except that no complaint for termination shall be filed until after three months from the date of the last act of cruelty complained of in the complaint, but this provision shall not be held to apply to any counterclaim;

(d) separation, provided that the domestic partners have lived separate and apart in different habitations for a period of at least 18 or more consecutive months and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; and provided further that, after the 18-month period, there shall be a presumption that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation;

(e) voluntarily induced addiction or habituation to any narcotic drug, as defined in the "New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act," P.L.1970, c. 226 (C.24:21-2) or the "Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987," N.J.S.2C:35-1 et al., or habitual drunkenness for a period of 12 or more consecutive months subsequent to establishment of the domestic partnership and next preceding the filing of the complaint;

(f) institutionalization for mental illness for a period of 24 or more consecutive months subsequent to establishment of the domestic partnership and next preceding the filing of the complaint; or

(g) imprisonment of the defendant for 18 or more consecutive months after establishment of the domestic partnership, provided that where the action is not commenced until after the defendant's release, the parties have not resumed cohabitation following the imprisonment.

(3) In all such proceedings, the court shall in no event be required to effect an equitable distribution of property, either real or personal, which was legally and beneficially acquired by both domestic partners or either domestic partner during the domestic partnership.

(4) The court shall notify the State registrar of the termination of a domestic partnership pursuant to this subsection.

b. In the case of two persons who are each 62 years of age or older and not of the same sex and have established a domestic partnership pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4), the domestic partnership shall be deemed terminated if the two persons enter into a marriage with each other that is recognized by New Jersey law .

c. The State registrar shall revise the records of domestic partnership provided for in section 9 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-9) to reflect the termination of a domestic partnership pursuant to this section.

11. Section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5) is amended to read as follows:

C.10:5-5 Definitions relative to discrimination.

5. As used in this act, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:

a. "Person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, organizations, labor organizations, corporations, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, and fiduciaries.

b. "Employment agency" includes any person undertaking to procure employees or opportunities for others to work.

c. "Labor organization" includes any organization which exists and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining, or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.

d. "Unlawful employment practice" and "unlawful discrimination" include only those unlawful practices and acts specified in section 11 of this act.

e. "Employer" includes all persons as defined in subsection a. of this section unless otherwise specifically exempt under another section of this act, and includes the State, any political or civil subdivision thereof, and all public officers, agencies, boards or bodies.

f. "Employee" does not include any individual employed in the domestic service of any person.

g. "Liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States" means subject to being ordered as an individual or member of an organized unit into active service in the Armed Forces of the United States by reason of membership in the National Guard, naval militia or a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States, or subject to being inducted into such armed forces through a system of national selective service.

h. "Division" means the "Division on Civil Rights" created by this act.

i. "Attorney General" means the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey or his representative or designee.

j. "Commission" means the Commission on Civil Rights created by this act.

k. "Director" means the Director of the Division on Civil Rights.

l. "A place of public accommodation" shall include, but not be limited to: any tavern, roadhouse, hotel, motel, trailer camp, summer camp, day camp, or resort camp, whether for entertainment of transient guests or accommodation of those seeking health, recreation or rest; any producer, manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retail shop, store, establishment, or concession dealing with goods or services of any kind; any restaurant, eating house, or place where food is sold for consumption on the premises; any place maintained for the sale of ice cream, ice and fruit preparations or their derivatives, soda water or confections, or where any beverages of any kind are retailed for consumption on the premises; any garage, any public conveyance operated on land or water, or in the air, any stations and terminals thereof; any bathhouse, boardwalk, or seashore accommodation; any auditorium, meeting place, or hall; any theatre, motion-picture house, music hall, roof garden, skating rink, swimming pool, amusement and recreation park, fair, bowling alley, gymnasium, shooting gallery, billiard and pool parlor, or other place of amusement; any comfort station; any dispensary, clinic or hospital; any public library; any kindergarten, primary and secondary school, trade or business school, high school, academy, college and university, or any educational institution under the supervision of the State Board of Education, or the Commissioner of Education of the State of New Jersey. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to include or to apply to any institution, bona fide club, or place of accommodation, which is in its nature distinctly private; nor shall anything herein contained apply to any educational facility operated or maintained by a bona fide religious or sectarian institution, and the right of a natural parent or one in loco parentis to direct the education and upbringing of a child under his control is hereby affirmed; nor shall anything herein contained be construed to bar any private secondary or post secondary school from using in good faith criteria other than race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry or affectional or sexual orientation in the admission of students.

m. "A publicly assisted housing accommodation" shall include all housing built with public funds or public assistance pursuant to P.L.1949, c.300, P.L.1941, c.213, P.L.1944, c.169, P.L.1949, c.303, P.L.1938, c.19, P.L.1938, c.20, P.L.1946, c.52, and P.L.1949, c.184, and all housing financed in whole or in part by a loan, whether or not secured by a mortgage, the repayment of which is guaranteed or insured by the federal government or any agency thereof.

n. The term "real property" includes real estate, lands, tenements and hereditaments, corporeal and incorporeal, and leaseholds, provided, however, that, except as to publicly assisted housing accommodations, the provisions of this act shall not apply to the rental: (1) of a single apartment or flat in a two-family dwelling, the other occupancy unit of which is occupied by the owner as a residence; or (2) of a room or rooms to another person or persons by the owner or occupant of a one-family dwelling occupied by the owner or occupant as a residence at the time of such rental. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to bar any religious or denominational institution or organization, or any organization operated for charitable or educational purposes, which is operated, supervised or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, in the sale, lease or rental of real property, from limiting admission to or giving preference to persons of the same religion or denomination or from making such selection as is calculated by such organization to promote the religious principles for which it is established or maintained. Nor does any provision under this act regarding discrimination on the basis of familial status apply with respect to housing for older persons.

o. "Real estate broker" includes a person, firm or corporation who, for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration, or by reason of promise or reasonable expectation thereof, lists for sale, sells, exchanges, buys or rents, or offers or attempts to negotiate a sale, exchange, purchase, or rental of real estate or an interest therein, or collects or offers or attempts to collect rent for the use of real estate, or solicits for prospective purchasers or assists or directs in the procuring of prospects or the negotiation or closing of any transaction which does or is contemplated to result in the sale, exchange, leasing, renting or auctioning of any real estate, or negotiates, or offers or attempts or agrees to negotiate a loan secured or to be secured by mortgage or other encumbrance upon or transfer of any real estate for others; or any person who, for pecuniary gain or expectation of pecuniary gain conducts a public or private competitive sale of lands or any interest in lands. In the sale of lots, the term "real estate broker" shall also include any person, partnership, association or corporation employed by or on behalf of the owner or owners of lots or other parcels of real estate, at a stated salary, or upon a commission, or upon a salary and commission or otherwise, to sell such real estate, or any parts thereof, in lots or other parcels, and who shall sell or exchange, or offer or attempt or agree to negotiate the sale or exchange, of any such lot or parcel of real estate.

p. "Real estate salesperson" includes any person who, for compensation, valuable consideration or commission, or other thing of value, or by reason of a promise or reasonable expectation thereof, is employed by and operates under the supervision of a licensed real estate broker to sell or offer to sell, buy or offer to buy or negotiate the purchase, sale or exchange of real estate, or offers or attempts to negotiate a loan secured or to be secured by a mortgage or other encumbrance upon or transfer of real estate, or to lease or rent, or offer to lease or rent any real estate for others, or to collect rents for the use of real estate, or to solicit for prospective purchasers or lessees of real estate, or who is employed by a licensed real estate broker to sell or offer to sell lots or other parcels of real estate, at a stated salary, or upon a commission, or upon a salary and commission, or otherwise to sell real estate, or any parts thereof, in lots or other parcels.

q. "Disability" means physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement which is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness including epilepsy, and which shall include, but not be limited to, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical coordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment or physical reliance on a service or guide dog, wheelchair, or other remedial appliance or device, or any mental, psychological or developmental disability resulting from anatomical, psychological, physiological or neurological conditions which prevents the normal exercise of any bodily or mental functions or is demonstrable, medically or psychologically, by accepted clinical or laboratory diagnostic techniques. Disability shall also mean AIDS or HIV infection.

r. "Blind person" means any individual whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lens or whose visual acuity is better than 20/200 if accompanied by a limit to the field of vision in the better eye to such a degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle of no greater than 20 degrees.

s. "Guide dog" means a dog used to assist deaf persons or which is fitted with a special harness so as to be suitable as an aid to the mobility of a blind person, and is used by a blind person who has satisfactorily completed a specific course of training in the use of such a dog, and has been trained by an organization generally recognized by agencies involved in the rehabilitation of the blind or deaf as reputable and competent to provide dogs with training of this type.

t. "Guide or service dog trainer" means any person who is employed by an organization generally recognized by agencies involved in the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities as reputable and competent to provide dogs with training, and who is actually involved in the training process.

u. "Housing accommodation" means any publicly assisted housing accommodation or any real property, or portion thereof, which is used or occupied, or is intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home, residence or sleeping place of one or more persons, but shall not include any single family residence the occupants of which rent, lease, or furnish for compensation not more than one room therein.

v. "Public facility" means any place of public accommodation and any street, highway, sidewalk, walkway, public building, and any other place or structure to which the general public is regularly, normally or customarily permitted or invited.

w. "Deaf person" means any person whose hearing is so severely impaired that the person is unable to hear and understand normal conversational speech through the unaided ear alone, and who must depend primarily on a supportive device or visual communication such as writing, lip reading, sign language, and gestures.

x. "Atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait" means sickle cell trait, hemoglobin C trait, thalassemia trait, Tay-Sachs trait, or cystic fibrosis trait.

y. "Sickle cell trait" means the condition wherein the major natural hemoglobin components present in the blood of the individual are hemoglobin A (normal) and hemoglobin S (sickle hemoglobin) as defined by standard chemical and physical analytic techniques, including electrophoresis; and the proportion of hemoglobin A is greater than the proportion of hemoglobin S or one natural parent of the individual is shown to have only normal hemoglobin components (hemoglobin A, hemoglobin A2, hemoglobin F) in the normal proportions by standard chemical and physical analytic tests.

z. "Hemoglobin C trait" means the condition wherein the major natural hemoglobin components present in the blood of the individual are hemoglobin A (normal) and hemoglobin C as defined by standard chemical and physical analytic techniques, including electrophoresis; and the proportion of hemoglobin A is greater than the proportion of hemoglobin C or one natural parent of the individual is shown to have only normal hemoglobin components (hemoglobin A, hemoglobin A2, hemoglobin F) in normal proportions by standard chemical and physical analytic tests.

aa. "Thalassemia trait" means the presence of the thalassemia gene which in combination with another similar gene results in the chronic hereditary disease Cooley's anemia.

bb. "Tay-Sachs trait" means the presence of the Tay-Sachs gene which in combination with another similar gene results in the chronic hereditary disease Tay-Sachs.

cc. "Cystic fibrosis trait" means the presence of the cystic fibrosis gene which in combination with another similar gene results in the chronic hereditary disease cystic fibrosis.

dd. "Service dog" means any dog individually trained to the requirements of a person with a disability including, but not limited to minimal protection work, rescue work, pulling a wheelchair or retrieving dropped items.

ee. "Qualified Medicaid applicant" means an individual who is a qualified applicant pursuant to P.L.1968, c.413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.).

ff. "AIDS" means acquired immune deficiency syndrome as defined by the Centers for Disease Control of the United States Public Health Service.

gg. "HIV infection" means infection with the human immunodeficiency virus or any other related virus identified as a probable causative agent of AIDS.

hh. "Affectional or sexual orientation" means male or female heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality by inclination, practice, identity or expression, having a history thereof or being perceived, presumed or identified by others as having such an orientation.

ii. "Heterosexuality" means affectional, emotional or physical attraction or behavior which is primarily directed towards persons of the other gender.

jj. "Homosexuality" means affectional, emotional or physical attraction or behavior which is primarily directed towards persons of the same gender.

kk. "Bisexuality" means affectional, emotional or physical attraction or behavior which is directed towards persons of either gender.

ll. "Familial status" means being the natural parent of a child, the adoptive parent of a child, the foster parent of a child, having a "parent and child relationship" with a child as defined by State law, or having sole or joint legal or physical custody, care, guardianship, or visitation with a child, or any person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years.

mm. "Housing for older persons" means housing:

(1) provided under any State program that the Attorney General determines is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons (as defined in the State program); or provided under any federal program that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development determines is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons (as defined in the federal program); or

(2) intended for, and solely occupied by persons 62 years of age or older; or

(3) intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person 55 years of age or older per unit. In determining whether housing qualifies as housing for older persons under this subsection, the Attorney General shall adopt regulations which require at least the following factors:

(a) the existence of significant facilities and services specifically designed to meet the physical or social needs of older persons, or if the provision of such facilities and services is not practicable, that such housing is necessary to provide important housing opportunities for older persons; and

(b) that at least 80 percent of the units are occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older per unit; and

(c) the publication of, and adherence to, policies and procedures which demonstrate an intent by the owner or manager to provide housing for persons 55 years of age or older.

Housing shall not fail to meet the requirements for housing for older persons by reason of: persons residing in such housing as of September 13, 1988 not meeting the age requirements of this subsection, provided that new occupants of such housing meet the age requirements of this subsection; or unoccupied units, provided that such units are reserved for occupancy by persons who meet the age requirements of this subsection.

nn. "Genetic characteristic" means any inherited gene or chromosome, or alteration thereof, that is scientifically or medically believed to predispose an individual to a disease, disorder or syndrome, or to be associated with a statistically significant increased risk of development of a disease, disorder or syndrome.

oo. "Genetic information" means the information about genes, gene products or inherited characteristics that may derive from an individual or family member.

pp. "Genetic test" means a test for determining the presence or absence of an inherited genetic characteristic in an individual, including tests of nucleic acids such as DNA, RNA and mitochondrial DNA, chromosomes or proteins in order to identify a predisposing genetic characteristic.

qq. "Domestic partnership" means a domestic partnership established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4).

12. Section 11 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-12) is amended to read as follows:

C.10:5-12 Unlawful employment practices, discrimination.

11. It shall be an unlawful employment practice, or, as the case may be, an unlawful discrimination:

a. For an employer, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, genetic information, sex, disability or atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait of any individual, or because of the liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or the nationality of any individual, or because of the refusal to submit to a genetic test or make available the results of a genetic test to an employer, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge or require to retire, unless justified by lawful considerations other than age, from employment such individual or to discriminate against such individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment; provided, however, it shall not be an unlawful employment practice to refuse to accept for employment an applicant who has received a notice of induction or orders to report for active duty in the armed forces; provided further that nothing herein contained shall be construed to bar an employer from refusing to accept for employment any person on the basis of sex in those certain circumstances where sex is a bona fide occupational qualification, reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular business or enterprise; provided further that nothing herein contained shall be construed to bar an employer from refusing to accept for employment or to promote any person over 70 years of age; provided further that it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for a club exclusively social or fraternal to use club membership as a uniform qualification for employment, or for a religious association or organization to utilize religious affiliation as a uniform qualification in the employment of clergy, religious teachers or other employees engaged in the religious activities of the association or organization, or in following the tenets of its religion in establishing and utilizing criteria for employment of an employee; provided further, that it shall not be an unlawful employment practice to require the retirement of any employee who, for the two-year period immediately before retirement, is employed in a bona fide executive or a high policy-making position, if that employee is entitled to an immediate non-forfeitable annual retirement benefit from a pension, profit sharing, savings or deferred retirement plan, or any combination of those plans, of the employer of that employee which equals in the aggregate at least $27,000.00; and provided further that an employer may restrict employment to citizens of the United States where such restriction is required by federal law or is otherwise necessary to protect the national interest.

The provisions of subsections a. and b. of section 57 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.34:11A-20), and the provisions of section 58 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-11), shall not be deemed to be an unlawful discrimination under P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.).

For the purposes of this subsection, a "bona fide executive" is a top level employee who exercises substantial executive authority over a significant number of employees and a large volume of business. A "high policy-making position" is a position in which a person plays a significant role in developing policy and in recommending the implementation thereof.

b. For a labor organization, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, disability or sex of any individual, or because of the liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or nationality of any individual, to exclude or to expel from its membership such individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its members, against any applicant for, or individual included in, any apprentice or other training program or against any employer or any individual employed by an employer; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to bar a labor organization from excluding from its apprentice or other training programs any person on the basis of sex in those certain circumstances where sex is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular apprentice or other training program.

c. For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application for employment, or to make an inquiry in connection with prospective employment, which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, nationality or sex or liability of any applicant for employment for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification.

d. For any person to take reprisals against any person because that person has opposed any practices or acts forbidden under this act or because that person has filed a complaint, testified or assisted in any proceeding under this act or to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of that person having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by this act.

e. For any person, whether an employer or an employee or not, to aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this act, or to attempt to do so.

f. (1) For any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent, or employee of any place of public accommodation directly or indirectly to refuse, withhold from or deny to any person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof, or to discriminate against any person in the furnishing thereof, or directly or indirectly to publish, circulate, issue, display, post or mail any written or printed communication, notice, or advertisement to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any such place will be refused, withheld from, or denied to any person on account of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability or nationality of such person, or that the patronage or custom thereat of any person of any particular race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability or nationality is unwelcome, objectionable or not acceptable, desired or solicited, and the production of any such written or printed communication, notice or advertisement, purporting to relate to any such place and to be made by any owner, lessee, proprietor, superintendent or manager thereof, shall be presumptive evidence in any action that the same was authorized by such person; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall be construed to bar any place of public accommodation which is in its nature reasonably restricted exclusively to individuals of one sex, and which shall include but not be limited to any summer camp, day camp, or resort camp, bathhouse, dressing room, swimming pool, gymnasium, comfort station, dispensary, clinic or hospital, or school or educational institution which is restricted exclusively to individuals of one sex, from refusing, withholding from or denying to any individual of the opposite sex any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof on the basis of sex; provided further, that the foregoing limitation shall not apply to any restaurant as defined in R.S.33:1-1 or place where alcoholic beverages are served.

(2) Notwithstanding the definition of "public accommodation " as set forth in subsection l. of section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5), for any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent, or employee of any private club or association to directly or indirectly refuse, withhold from or deny to any individual who has been accepted as a club member and has contracted for or is otherwise entitled to full club membership any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof, or to discriminate against any member in the furnishing thereof on account of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability or nationality of such person.

In addition to the penalties otherwise provided for a violation of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.), if the violator of paragraph (2) of subsection f. of this section is the holder of an alcoholic beverage license issued under the provisions of R.S.33:1-12 for that private club or association, the matter shall be referred to the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control who shall impose an appropriate penalty in accordance with the procedures set forth in R.S.33:1-31.

g. For any person, including but not limited to, any owner, lessee, sublessee, assignee or managing agent of, or other person having the right of ownership or possession of or the right to sell, rent, lease, assign, or sublease any real property or part or portion thereof, or any agent or employee of any of these:

(1) To refuse to sell, rent, lease, assign, or sublease or otherwise to deny to or withhold from any person or group of persons any real property or part or portion thereof because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, disability, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments;

(2) To discriminate against any person or group of persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, disability, nationality or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments in the terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease of any real property or part or portion thereof or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith;

(3) To print, publish, circulate, issue, display, post or mail, or cause to be printed, published, circulated, issued, displayed, posted or mailed any statement, advertisement, publication or sign, or to use any form of application for the purchase, rental, lease, assignment or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof, or to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any real property, or part or portion thereof which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, disability, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination, and the production of any such statement, advertisement, publicity, sign, form of application, record, or inquiry purporting to be made by any such person shall be presumptive evidence in any action that the same was authorized by such person; provided, however, that nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to bar any person from refusing to sell, rent, lease, assign or sublease or from advertising or recording a qualification as to sex for any room, apartment, flat in a dwelling or residential facility which is planned exclusively for and occupied by individuals of one sex to any individual of the exclusively opposite sex on the basis of sex;

(4) To refuse to sell, rent, lease, assign, or sublease or otherwise to deny to or withhold from any person or group of persons any real property or part or portion thereof because of the source of any lawful income received by the person or the source of any lawful rent payment to be paid for the real property; or

(5) To refuse to rent or lease any real property to another person because that person's family includes children under 18 years of age, or to make an agreement, rental or lease of any real property which provides that the agreement, rental or lease shall be rendered null and void upon the birth of a child. This paragraph shall not apply to housing for older persons as defined in subsection mm. of section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5).

h. For any person, including but not limited to, any real estate broker, real estate salesperson, or employee or agent thereof:

(1) To refuse to sell, rent, assign, lease or sublease, or offer for sale, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease any real property or part or portion thereof to any person or group of persons or to refuse to negotiate for the sale, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof to any person or group of persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, familial status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments, or to represent that any real property or portion thereof is not available for inspection, sale, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease when in fact it is so available, or otherwise to deny or withhold any real property or any part or portion of facilities thereof to or from any person or group of persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, familial status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability or nationality;

(2) To discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, familial status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments in the terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, rental, lease, assignment or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith;

(3) To print, publish, circulate, issue, display, post, or mail, or cause to be printed, published, circulated, issued, displayed, posted or mailed any statement, advertisement, publication or sign, or to use any form of application for the purchase, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof or to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective purchase, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any real property or part or portion thereof which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, familial status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination, and the production of any such statement, advertisement, publicity, sign, form of application, record, or inquiry purporting to be made by any such person shall be presumptive evidence in any action that the same was authorized by such person; provided, however, that nothing contained in this subsection h., shall be construed to bar any person from refusing to sell, rent, lease, assign or sublease or from advertising or recording a qualification as to sex for any room, apartment, flat in a dwelling or residential facility which is planned exclusively for and occupied exclusively by individuals of one sex to any individual of the opposite sex on the basis of sex;

i. For any person, bank, banking organization, mortgage company, insurance company or other financial institution, lender or credit institution involved in the making or purchasing of any loan or extension of credit, for whatever purpose, whether secured by residential real estate or not, including but not limited to financial assistance for the purchase, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of any real property or part or portion thereof or any agent or employee thereof:

(1) To discriminate against any person or group of persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, familial status or nationality, in the granting, withholding, extending, modifying, renewing, or purchasing, or in the fixing of the rates, terms, conditions or provisions of any such loan, extension of credit or financial assistance or purchase thereof or in the extension of services in connection therewith;

(2) To use any form of application for such loan, extension of credit or financial assistance or to make record or inquiry in connection with applications for any such loan, extension of credit or financial assistance which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, familial status or nationality or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination; unless otherwise required by law or regulation to retain or use such information;

(3) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2003, c.180).

(4) To discriminate against any person or group of persons because of the source of any lawful income received by the person or the source of any lawful rent payment to be paid for the real property; or

(5) To discriminate against any person or group of persons because that person's family includes children under 18 years of age, or to make an agreement or mortgage which provides that the agreement or mortgage shall be rendered null and void upon the birth of a child. This paragraph shall not apply to housing for older persons as defined in subsection mm. of section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5).

j. For any person whose activities are included within the scope of this act to refuse to post or display such notices concerning the rights or responsibilities of persons affected by this act as the Attorney General may by regulation require.

k. For any real estate broker, real estate salesperson or employee or agent thereof or any other individual, corporation, partnership, or organization, for the purpose of inducing a transaction for the sale or rental of real property from which transaction such person or any of its members may benefit financially, to represent that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition with respect to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership status, familial status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments of the owners or occupants in the block, neighborhood or area in which the real property is located, and to represent, directly or indirectly, that this change will or may result in undesirable consequences in the block, neighborhood or area in which the real property is located, including, but not limited to the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or anti-social behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools or other facilities.

l. For any person to refuse to buy from, sell to, lease from or to, license, contract with, or trade with, provide goods, services or information to, or otherwise do business with any other person on the basis of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, marital status, domestic partnership status, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, disability, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments of such other person or of such other person's spouse, partners, members, stockholders, directors, officers, managers, superintendents, agents, employees, business associates, suppliers, or customers. This subsection shall not prohibit refusals or other actions (1) pertaining to employee-employer collective bargaining, labor disputes, or unfair labor practices, or (2) made or taken in connection with a protest of unlawful discrimination or unlawful employment practices.

m. For any person to:

(1) Grant or accept any letter of credit or other document which evidences the transfer of funds or credit, or enter into any contract for the exchange of goods or services, where the letter of credit, contract, or other document contains any provisions requiring any person to discriminate against or to certify that he, she or it has not dealt with any other person on the basis of the race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, marital status, domestic partnership status, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or nationality of such other person or of such other person's spouse, partners, members, stockholders, directors, officers, managers, superintendents, agents, employees, business associates, suppliers, or customers.

(2) Refuse to grant or accept any letter of credit or other document which evidences the transfer of funds or credit, or refuse to enter into any contract for the exchange of goods or services, on the ground that it does not contain such a discriminatory provision or certification.

The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any letter of credit, contract, or other document which contains any provision pertaining to employee-employer collective bargaining, a labor dispute or an unfair labor practice, or made in connection with the protest of unlawful discrimination or an unlawful employment practice, if the other provisions of such letter of credit, contract, or other document do not otherwise violate the provisions of this subsection.

n. For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, coerce, or induce the doing of any act forbidden by subsections l. and m. of section 11 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-12), or to attempt, or to conspire to do so. Such prohibited conduct shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) Buying from, selling to, leasing from or to, licensing, contracting with, trading with, providing goods, services, or information to, or otherwise doing business with any person because that person does, or agrees or attempts to do, any such act or any act prohibited by this subsection; or

(2) Boycotting, commercially blacklisting or refusing to buy from, sell to, lease from or to, license, contract with, provide goods, services or information to, or otherwise do business with any person because that person has not done or refuses to do any such act or any act prohibited by this subsection; provided that this subsection shall not prohibit refusals or other actions either pertaining to employee-employer collective bargaining, labor disputes, or unfair labor practices, or made or taken in connection with a protest of unlawful discrimination or unlawful employment practices.

o. For any multiple listing service, real estate brokers' organization or other service, organization or facility related to the business of selling or renting dwellings to deny any person access to or membership or participation in such organization, or to discriminate against such person in the terms or conditions of such access, membership, or participation, on account of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, domestic partnership status, familial status, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, disability or nationality.

C.26:2H-12.22 Domestic partner permitted visitation in health care facility.

13. a. A health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall allow a patient's domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3), the children of the patient's domestic partner, and the domestic partner of the patient's parent or child to visit, unless one of the following conditions is met:

(1) No visitors are allowed;

(2) The health care facility reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or safety of a patient, a member of the staff of the facility, or another visitor to the facility, or would significantly disrupt the operations of the facility; or

(3) The patient has indicated to health care facility staff that the patient does not want the person to visit.

b. The provisions of subsection a. of this section shall not be construed as prohibiting a health care facility from otherwise establishing reasonable restrictions upon visitations, including restrictions upon the hours of visitation and number of visitors.

14. R.S.26:8-1 is amended to read as follows:

Definitions.

26:8-1. As used in this chapter:

"Vital statistics" means statistics concerning births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages and domestic partnerships established pursuant to P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-1 et al.).

"Vital records" means the birth, death, fetal death, marriage and domestic partnership records from which vital statistics are produced.

"State registrar" means the State registrar of vital statistics; "Local registrar" or "registrar" means the local registrar of vital statistics of any district; and "registration district" or "district" means a registration district as constituted by this article.

"Live birth" or "birth" means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which, after such separation, breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta attached.

"Authentication" means the entry by the State Medical Examiner or a county medical examiner, funeral director or physician into the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System of a personal identification code, digital signature or other identifier unique to that user, by which the information entered into the system by the user is authenticated by the user who assumes responsibility for its accuracy. "Authentication" also means the process by which the State registrar or a local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar or subregistrar indicates that person's review and approval of information entered into the system by the State Medical Examiner or a county medical examiner, funeral director or physician.

"Electronic registration system" means any electronic method, including, but not limited to, one based on Internet technology, of collecting, transmitting, recording and authenticating information from one or more responsible parties, which is necessary to complete a vital record, and is designed to replace a manual, paper-based data collection, recordation and signature system.

"New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System" or "NJ-EDRS" is an electronic registration system for completing a certification of death or fetal death record that is authorized, designed and maintained by the State registrar.

15. R.S.26:8-4 is amended to read as follows:

Duty to furnish information relative to birth, death, marriage, domestic partnership.

26:8-4. Upon demand of the State registrar in person, by mail, by means of the NJ-EDRS, or through the local registrar, every physician, midwife, informant, funeral director, or other person having knowledge of the facts relative to any birth, death, fetal death, marriage or domestic partnership, shall supply such information as he may possess, upon a form provided by the State registrar, or through the NJ-EDRS, or upon the original birth, death, fetal death, marriage or domestic partnership certificate or its electronic facsimile or digitized form thereof.

16. R.S.26:8-17 is amended to read as follows:

Local registrar; appointment of deputy, alternate deputy registrar.

26:8-17. The local registrar, immediately upon acceptance of the appointment, shall appoint a deputy to assist in the normal, day-to-day operation of the office and whose duty shall be to act in the registrar's stead in case of absence, disability or death of the registrar. In case of death of the local registrar the deputy shall act as local registrar until a new local registrar has been appointed and qualified.

In addition to a deputy registrar, the local registrar may appoint one or two alternate deputy registrars if the local registrar deems such an appointment to be necessary for the office to function efficiently and to provide quality service to the public. The deputy registrar and alternate deputy registrar shall have the authority to receive birth certificates and death certificates; to issue burial permits, and copies of birth, death, marriage and domestic partnership certificates; to take the oath on marriage license applications; and to issue marriage licenses and register domestic partnerships. The deputy registrar and alternate deputy registrar shall receive instructions from and perform their duties under the direct supervision of the registrar, who shall be the final authority with the responsibility of fulfilling the duties of the local registrar outlined in R.S.26:8-25. The deputy registrar and any alternate deputy registrar shall serve at the pleasure of the local registrar.

17. R.S.26:8-23 is amended to read as follows:

Duty of the department; examination of records.

26:8-23. The Department of Health and Senior Services shall have charge of the registration of births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages and domestic partnerships and shall procure the prompt and accurate registration of the same in each registration district and in the department. The department may promulgate any rule or regulation which it deems necessary for the uniform and thorough enforcement of this section.

The department may decline permission to examine any record except in the presence of an officer or employee of the department.

18. R.S.26:8-24 is amended to read as follows:

Duties, responsibilities of State registrar.

R.S.26:8-24. The State registrar shall:

a. Have general supervision throughout the State of the registration of vital records;

b. Have supervisory power over local registrars, deputy local registrars, alternate deputy local registrars, and subregistrars, in the enforcement of the law relative to the disposal of dead bodies and the registration of vital records;

c. Prepare, print, and supply to all registrars, upon request therefor, all blanks and forms used in registering the records required by said law, and provide for and prescribe the use of the NJ-EDRS. No other blanks or methods of registration shall be used than those supplied or approved by the State registrar;

d. Carefully examine the certificates or electronic files received periodically from the local registrars or originating from their jurisdiction; and, if any are incomplete or unsatisfactory, require such further information to be supplied as may be necessary to make the record complete and satisfactory;

e. Arrange or bind, and permanently preserve the certificates of vital records, or the information comprising those records, in a systematic manner and in a form that is deemed most consistent with contemporary and developing standards of vital statistical archival record keeping;

f. Prepare and maintain a comprehensive and continuous index of all vital records registered, the index to be arranged alphabetically;

1. In the case of deaths, by the name of the decedent;

2. In the case of births, by the name of child, if given, and if not, then by the name of father or mother;

3. In the case of marriages, by the surname of the husband and also by the maiden name of the wife;

4. In the case of domestic partnerships, by the surname of each of the partners; and

g. Mark the birth certificate of a missing child when notified by the Missing Persons Unit in the Department of Law and Public Safety pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1995, c.395 (C.52:17B-9.8c); and

h. Develop and provide to local registrars an education and training program, which the State registrar may require each local registrar to complete as a condition of retaining that position, and which may be offered to deputy local registrars, alternate deputy local registrars and subregistrars at the discretion of the State registrar, that includes material designed to implement the NJ-EDRS and to familiarize local registrars with the statutory requirements applicable to their duties and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, as deemed appropriate by the State registrar.

19. R.S.26:8-25 is amended to read as follows:

Duties, responsibilities of local registrar.

26:8-25. The local registrar, under the supervision and direction of the State registrar, shall:

a. Strictly and thoroughly enforce the law relative to the disposal of dead bodies and the registration of vital records in his registration district;

b. Supply blank forms of certificates to such persons as require them;

c. Supply to every physician, midwife, and funeral director a copy of the law relative to the registration of vital records and the disposal of dead bodies, together with such rules and regulations as may be prepared by the State registrar relative to their enforcement;

d. Sign his name and insert the date of filing on each certificate of birth, marriage, domestic partnership and death or otherwise authenticate the local registrar's identity through the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar;

e. Examine each certificate of birth, marriage, domestic partnership or death when presented for record in order to ascertain whether or not it has been made in accordance with law and the instructions of the State registrar; and if incomplete and unsatisfactory, have the same corrected;

f. At the expense of the municipality make a complete and accurate copy of each birth, marriage, domestic partnership and death certificate registered by him on a form or in a manner prescribed by the State registrar, to be preserved in his office as the local record or in the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar;

g. On the tenth day of each month or sooner if requested by the department, transmit to the State registrar all original birth, marriage, domestic partnership and death certificates received by him for the preceding month, except that a record created on the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar shall be deemed to have been transmitted. If no births, marriages, domestic partnerships or deaths occurred in any month, he shall, on or before the tenth day of the following month, report that fact to the State registrar on a card provided for such purpose;

h. Make an immediate report to the State registrar of any violation of R.S.26:6-1 et seq., R.S.26:8-1 et seq., or R.S.37:1-1 et seq. coming to his knowledge;

i. In the case of any birth in his registration district to parents who are residents of another registration district or of the marriage in his registration district of any couple who obtained the marriage license in another registration district, or of the death in his registration district of any person who at the time of death was a resident of another registration district notify the registrar of the other registration district, within five days of the birth, marriage, or death, on forms prescribed by the State registrar. All entries relating to cause of death on the original certificate shall be entered on the death form sent to the registrar of the other registration district. A record created on the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar shall be deemed to have been transmitted to the registrar of the other registration district;

j. Mark the birth certificate of a missing child born in his registration district when notified by the State registrar pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1995, c.395 (C.52:17B-9.8c); and

k. Make computer facilities with access to the NJ-EDRS available to funeral directors and physicians registered with the NJ-EDRS, within the regular established business hours of the local registrar, for the purpose of providing information necessary to complete a death record.

20. R.S.26:8-48 is amended to read as follows:

Amendments to certificate, recording, authentication.

26:8-48. A certificate of birth, fetal death, marriage, domestic partnership or death heretofore or hereafter filed with the State registrar shall not be altered or changed otherwise than by amendments properly signed, dated and witnessed, or as otherwise recorded and authenticated on the NJ-EDRS as prescribed by the State registrar.

21. R.S.26:8-51 is amended to read as follows:

Corrections to marriage, domestic partnership certificates.

26:8-51. Corrections to marriage or domestic partnership certificates shall be signed by the person who signed the certificate or by any other person having personal knowledge of the matters sought to be corrected which other person shall state such matters on his oath.

22. R.S.26:8-55 is amended to read as follows:

Submitting false certificate; penalty.

26:8-55. Any person knowingly submitting a certificate pursuant to this article containing incorrect particulars relating to any birth, marriage, domestic partnership or death shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $500, which shall be recovered with costs in a summary proceeding in the name of the department.

23. R.S.26:8-60 is amended to read as follows:

Fee for transmitting certificate.

26:8-60. Each local registrar shall be entitled to receive from the proper disbursing officer of the municipality or county the sum of $1 for each marriage or domestic partnership certificate properly transmitted to the State Registrar.

In any registration district, the body appointing local registrars may, in lieu of fees, provide that officers performing the above service shall receive a fixed compensation to be determined by such body.

24. R.S.26:8-62 is amended to read as follows:

Certification, certified copy of records, search fee.

26:8-62. a. The State registrar shall, upon request, supply to a person who establishes himself as one of the following: the subject of the record of a birth, death, fetal death or marriage, as applicable; the subject's parent, legal guardian or other legal representative; the subject's spouse, child, grandchild or sibling, if of legal age, or the subject's legal representative; an agency of State or federal government for official purposes; a person possessing an order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or a person who is authorized under other emergent circumstances as determined by the commissioner, a certification or certified copy of that record registered under the provisions of R.S.26:8-1 et seq., or any domestic partnership registered under the provisions of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-1 et al.), for any of which, except as provided by R.S.26:8-63, the State registrar shall be entitled to a search fee, if any, as provided by R.S.26:8-64, to be paid by the person. For the purposes of this subsection, any employee of a mortuary registered pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C.45:7-32 et seq.), or a funeral director licensed pursuant to that act who is affiliated with a registered mortuary, if the mortuary was recorded on the original certificate of death, shall be construed to be the subject's legal representative and entitled to obtain full and complete copies of death certificates or certifications thereof.

b. The State registrar shall, upon request, supply to any applicant a certified transcript of any entry contained in the records of the New Jersey State census for which, except as provided by R.S.26:8-63, he shall be entitled to a search fee as provided by R.S.26:8-64, to be paid by the applicant.

c. For each death registration initiated on the NJ-EDRS on or after the first day of the first month following the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221 but before the first day of the thirty-seventh month following the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, the State registrar shall be paid a recording fee for each record filed, whether by means of the current paper process or electronically, in an amount to be determined by the State registrar but not exceeding $10, from the account of the funeral home, which may include this amount in the funeral expenses charged to the estate or person accepting responsibility for the disposition of the deceased's human remains and the costs associated therewith; provided however, this fee shall not apply to the death registration of a person who died while in the military or naval or maritime or merchant marine service of the United States whose death is recorded pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1950, c.299 (C.26:6-5.2). The State registrar shall deposit the proceeds from the recording fee into the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration Support Fund established pursuant to section 17 of P.L.2003, c.221 (C.26:8-24.2).

25. R.S.26:8-63 is amended to read as follows:

Free certified copies.

26:8-63. The State registrar shall:

a. Furnish a certification or certified copy of a birth, marriage, domestic partnership, fetal death or death certificate without fee in the prosecution of any claim for public pension or for military or naval enlistment purposes; and

b. Furnish the United States Public Health Service without expense to the State, microfilm or photocopy images of birth, marriage, domestic partnership, fetal death and death certificates without payment of the fees prescribed in this article; and

c. Furnish a certified transcript of any entry in the records of the New Jersey State census without fee for certification in the prosecution of any claim for public pension, for military or naval enlistment purposes; and

d. Furnish without fee upon request for administrative use by any city, State or Federal agency a certified transcript of any New Jersey State census entry, or a certification or certified copy of a birth, death, fetal death, marriage or domestic partnership certificate.

26. R.S.26:8-64 is amended to read as follows:

Search of files, records, fee.

26:8-64. a. For any search of the files and records of births, deaths, marriages or domestic partnerships when the correct year only is supplied by the applicant, whether or not a certification or a certified copy is made, the State Registrar shall be entitled to a minimum fee of $4, plus a fee of $1 for each additional year searched, which fee shall be paid by the applicant, except as provided by R.S.26:8-63. The fee for each additional copy shall be $2.

b. For all searches of the New Jersey State census records, except as otherwise provided herein, the State Registrar shall be entitled to a fee of $2 for each address searched in any census year.

c. Conduct without fee upon request for administrative use by any city, state, or federal agency, a search for any New Jersey State census entry.

27. Section 1 of P.L.1977, c.237 (C.26:2H-32) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:2H-32 Definitions.

1. The following words or phrases, as used in this act, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:

a. "Nursing home" means a facility providing therein nursing care to sick, invalid, infirm, disabled or convalescent persons in addition to lodging and board or health-related service, or any combination of the foregoing and in addition thereto, providing nursing care and health-related service, or either of them, to persons who are not occupants of the facility.

b. "Affiliate" means (1) with respect to a partnership, each partner thereof; (2) with respect to a corporation, each officer, director, principal stockholder or controlling person thereof; (3) with respect to a natural person (a) each member of said person's immediate family, (b) each partnership and each partner thereof of which said person or any affiliate of said person is a partner, and (c) each corporation in which said person or any affiliate of said person is an officer, director, principal stockholder or controlling person.

c. "Controlling person" of any corporation, partnership or other entity means any person who has the ability, directly or indirectly, to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of said corporation, partnership or other entity.

d. "Immediate family" of any person includes each parent, child, spouse, brother, sister, first cousin, aunt and uncle of such person, whether such relationship arises by birth, marriage or adoption, as well as the domestic partner of that person as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3) and the domestic partner's parent and adult child.

e. "Principal stockholder" of a corporation means any person who beneficially owns, holds or has the power to vote, 10% or more of any class of securities issued by said corporation.

28. Section 5 of P.L.1991, c.201 (C.26:2H-57) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:2H-57 Proxy, instruction directive; reaffirmed, modified, revoked.

5. a. A declarant may reaffirm or modify either a proxy directive, or an instruction directive, or both. The reaffirmation or modification shall be made in accordance with the requirements for execution of an advance directive pursuant to section 4 of this act.

b. A declarant may revoke an advance directive, including a proxy directive, or an instruction directive, or both, by the following means:

(1) Notification, orally or in writing, to the health care representative, physician, nurse or other health care professional, or other reliable witness, or by any other act evidencing an intent to revoke the document; or

(2) Execution of a subsequent proxy directive or instruction directive, or both, in accordance with section 4 of this act.

c. Designation of the declarant's spouse as health care representative shall be revoked upon divorce or legal separation, and designation of the declarant's domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3) as health care representative shall be revoked upon termination of the declarant's domestic partnership, unless otherwise specified in the advance directive.

d. An incompetent patient may suspend an advance directive, including a proxy directive, an instruction directive, or both, by any of the means stated in paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section. An incompetent patient who has suspended an advance directive may reinstate that advance directive by oral or written notification to the health care representative, physician, nurse or other health care professional of an intent to reinstate the advance directive.

e. Reaffirmation, modification, revocation or suspension of an advance directive is effective upon communication to any person capable of transmitting the information including the health care representative, the attending physician, nurse or other health care professional responsible for the patient's care.

29. Section 6 of P.L.1991, c.201 (C.26:2H-58) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:2H-58 Designation of health care representative; limitations.

6. a. A declarant may execute a proxy directive, pursuant to the requirements of section 4 of this act, designating a competent adult to act as his health care representative.

(1) A competent adult, including, but not limited to, a declarant's spouse, domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3), adult child, parent or other family member, friend, religious or spiritual advisor, or other person of the declarant's choosing, may be designated as a health care representative.

(2) An operator, administrator or employee of a health care institution in which the declarant is a patient or resident shall not serve as the declarant's health care representative unless the operator, administrator or employee is related to the declarant by blood, marriage, domestic partnership or adoption.

This restriction does not apply to a physician, if the physician does not serve as the patient's attending physician and the patient's health care representative at the same time.

(3) A declarant may designate one or more alternate health care representatives, listed in order of priority. In the event the primary designee is unavailable, unable or unwilling to serve as health care representative, or is disqualified from such service pursuant to this section or any other law, the next designated alternate shall serve as health care representative. In the event the primary designee subsequently becomes available and able to serve as health care representative, the primary designee may, insofar as then practicable, serve as health care representative.

(4) A declarant may direct the health care representative to consult with specified individuals, including alternate designees, family members and friends, in the course of the decision making process.

(5) A declarant shall state the limitations, if any, to be placed upon the authority of the health care representative including the limitations, if any, which may be applicable if the declarant is pregnant.

b. A declarant may execute an instruction directive, pursuant to the requirements of section 4 of this act, stating the declarant's general treatment philosophy and objectives; or the declarant's specific wishes regarding the provision, withholding or withdrawal of any form of health care, including life-sustaining treatment; or both. An instruction directive may, but need not, be executed contemporaneously with, or be attached to, a proxy directive.

30. Section 8 of P.L.1989, c.303 (C.26:5C-12) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:5C-12 Consent to disclose record of deceased, incompetent person.

8. When consent is required for disclosure of the record of a deceased or legally incompetent person who has or is suspected of having AIDS or HIV infection, consent may be obtained:

a. From an executor, administrator of the estate, or authorized representative of the legally incompetent or deceased person;

b. From the person's spouse, domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3), primary caretaking partner or, if none, by another member of the person's family; and

c. From the commissioner in the event that a deceased person has neither an authorized representative or next-of-kin.

31. Section 1 of P.L.1954, c.113 (C.26:6-50) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:6-50 Persons who may consent to examination.

1. Any physician licensed to practice medicine and surgery in this State may conduct a post-mortem and necroscopic examination upon the body of a deceased person if he first obtains the consent in writing of any of the following persons who shall have assumed responsibility and custody of the body for purposes of the burial: surviving spouse, domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3), adult child, parent, or other next of kin, of the deceased person. In the absence of any of the foregoing named persons any other person charged by law with and who shall have assumed responsibility and custody of the body for the burial may give such consent. Where 2 or more of the abovementioned have assumed such responsibility and custody of the body for purposes of burial, the consent of 1 of such persons shall be sufficient.

32. Section 1 of P.L.1969, c.161 (C.26:6-57) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:6-57 Definitions relative to human body part donations.

1. As used in this act:

(a) "Bank or storage facility" means a facility licensed, accredited, or approved under the laws of any State for storage of human bodies or parts thereof.

(b) "Decedent" means a deceased individual and includes a stillborn infant or fetus.

(d) "Hospital" means a hospital licensed, accredited, or approved under the laws of any State; includes a hospital operated by the United States Government, a State, or a subdivision thereof, although not required to be licensed under State laws.

(e) "Part" means organs, tissues, eyes, bones, arteries, blood, other fluids and any other portions of a human body.

(f) "Person" means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity.

(g) "Physician" or "surgeon" means a physician or surgeon licensed or authorized to practice under the laws of any State.

(h) "State" includes any State, district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession, and any other area subject to the legislative authority of the United States of America.

(i) "Transplant recovery specialist" means a medical professional licensed by this or another State or technician trained by an organ procurement organization in accordance with federal standards pursuant to 42 U.S.C.274(b) and nationally accredited standards for human body part removal.

(j) "Organ procurement organization" means an organization which is qualified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to 42 U.S.C.273(b).

(k) "Domestic partner" means a domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3).

33. Section 2 of P.L.1969, c.161 (C.26:6-58) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:6-58 Gift of all or part of body; consent; examination; rights of donee.

2. (a) Any individual of sound mind and 18 years of age or more may give all or any part of his body for any purpose specified in section 3, the gift to take effect upon death.

(b) Any of the following persons, in order of priority stated, when persons in prior classes are not available at the time of death, and in the absence of actual notice of contrary indications by the decedent or actual notice of opposition by a member of the same or a prior class, may give all or any part of the decedent's body for any purpose specified in section 3:

(1) The spouse or domestic partner,

(2) An adult son or daughter,

(3) Either parent,

(4) An adult brother or sister,

(5) A guardian of the person of the decedent at the time of his death,

(6) Any other person authorized or under obligation to dispose of the body.

(c) If the donee has actual notice of contrary indications by the decedent or that a gift by a member of a class is opposed by a member of the same or a prior class, the donee shall not accept the gift. The persons authorized by subsection (b) may make the gift after or immediately before death.

(d) A gift of all or part of a body authorizes any examination necessary to assure medical acceptability of the gift for the purposes intended.

(e) The rights of the donee created by the gift are paramount to the rights of others except as provided by section 7(d).

34. Section 1 of P.L.1987, c.244 (C.26:6-58.1) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:6-58.1 Consent for organ donations.

1. a. At or around the time of death of a patient in a hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), the hospital shall notify its designated organ procurement organization of the patient's death. If the patient has a validly executed donor card, donor designation on a driver's license, advance directive pursuant to P.L.1991, c.201 (C.26:2H-53 et seq.), will, other document of gift, or registration with a Statewide organ and tissue donor registry, the organ procurement organization representative or the hospital's designated requestor shall attempt to notify a person listed in this subsection of the gift. If no document of gift is known to the organ procurement organization representative or the designated requestor, one of those two individuals shall ask the persons listed in this subsection whether the decedent had a validly executed document of gift. If there is no evidence of an anatomical gift or actual notice of contrary indications by the decedent, the organ procurement organization representative or the designated requestor shall attempt to notify a person listed in this subsection of the option to donate organs or tissues. Consent need only be obtained from an available person in the highest priority class applicable, but an anatomical gift shall be barred by actual notice of opposition by a member of the same or a prior class. If no available member of a class will make a decision, the organ procurement organization representative or the designated requestor shall approach a member of the next class.

The classes in order of priority are:

(1) the spouse or domestic partner,

(2) an adult son or daughter,

(3) either parent,

(4) an adult brother or sister,

(5) a guardian of the person of the decedent at the time of the decedent's death, or

(6) any other person authorized or under the obligation to dispose of the body.

For the purposes of this section, a person is available if that person can be approached within a time period compatible with effecting an anatomical gift.

b. The person in charge of the hospital or that person's designated representative shall indicate in the medical record of the decedent whether or not consent was granted, the name of the person granting or refusing the consent, and that person's relationship to the decedent.

c. A gift made pursuant to the request required by this act shall be executed pursuant to the applicable provisions of P.L.1969, c.161 (C.26:6-57 et seq.).

d. A person who acts in good faith in accordance with the provisions of this act is not liable for any damages in any civil action or subject to prosecution in any criminal proceeding for any act or omission of the person.

e. If the decedent is deemed an unsuitable candidate for donation, an explanatory notation shall be made part of the medical record of the decedent.

35. Section 7 of P.L.1969, c.161 (C.26:6-63) is amended to read as follows:

C.26:6-63 Acceptance, rejection of gift, determination of time of death; civil liability; application of autopsy laws.

7. (a) The donee may accept or reject the gift. If the donee accepts a gift of the entire body, he may, subject to the terms of the gift, authorize embalming and the use of the body in funeral services, and after it has served its scientific purposes, provide for its disposal by burial or cremation. If the gift is of a part of the body, the donee, upon the death of the donor and prior to embalming, shall cause the part to be removed without unnecessary mutilation. After removal of the part, custody of the remainder of the body vests in the surviving spouse or domestic partner, next of kin, or other persons under obligation to dispose of the body.

(b) The time of death shall be determined by a physician who attends the donor at his death, or, if none, the physician who certifies the death. The physician shall not participate in the procedures for removing or transplanting a part.

(c) A person who acts in good faith in accord with the terms of this act or the anatomical gift laws of another State or foreign country is not liable for damages in any civil action or subject to prosecution in any criminal proceeding for his act.

(d) The provisions of this act are subject to the laws of this State prescribing powers and duties with respect to autopsies.

36. R.S.54:34-1 is amended to read as follows:

Transfers taxable.

54:34-1. Except as provided in section 54:34-4 of this Title, a tax shall be and is hereby imposed at the rates set forth in section 54:34-2 of this Title upon the transfer of property, real or personal, of the value of $500.00 or over, or of any interest therein or income therefrom, in trust or otherwise, to or for the use of any transferee, distributee or beneficiary in the following cases:

a. Where real or tangible personal property situated in this State or intangible personal property wherever situated is transferred by will or by the intestate laws of this State from a resident of this State dying seized or possessed thereof.

b. Where real or tangible personal property within this State of a decedent not a resident of this State at the time of his death is transferred by will or intestate law.

c. Where real or tangible personal property within this State of a resident of this State or intangible personal property wherever situate of a resident of this State or real or tangible personal property within this State of a nonresident, is transferred by deed, grant, bargain, sale or gift made in contemplation of the death of the grantor, vendor or donor, or intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after such death.

A transfer by deed, grant, bargain, sale or gift made without adequate valuable consideration and within three years prior to the death of the grantor, vendor or donor of a material part of his estate or in the nature of a final disposition or distribution thereof, shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to have been made in contemplation of death within the meaning of subsection c. of this section; but no such transfer made prior to such three-year period shall be deemed or held to have been made in contemplation of death.

d. Where by transfer of a resident decedent of real or tangible personal property within this State or intangible property wherever situate, or by transfer of a nonresident decedent of real or tangible personal property within this State, a transferee, distributee or beneficiary comes into the possession or enjoyment therein of:

(1) An estate in expectancy of any kind or character which is contingent or defeasible, transferred by an instrument taking effect on or after July 4, 1909; or

(2) Property transferred pursuant to a power of appointment contained in an instrument taking effect on or after July 4, 1909.

e. When a decedent appoints or names one or more executors or trustees and bequeaths or devises property to him or them in lieu of commissions or allowances, the transfer of which property would otherwise be taxable, or appoints him or them his residuary legatee or legatees, and the bequest, devise or residuary legacy exceeds what would be reasonable compensation for his or their services, such excess shall be deemed a transfer liable to tax. The Superior Court having jurisdiction in the case, shall determine what is a reasonable compensation.

f. The right of the surviving joint tenant or joint tenants, person or persons, to the immediate ownership or possession and enjoyment of real or personal property held in the joint names of two or more persons, or deposited in banks or other institutions or depositories in the joint names of two or more persons and payable to either or the survivor, excluding, however, the right of a spouse, as a surviving joint tenant with his or her deceased spouse, or the right of a domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3), as a surviving joint tenant with that person's deceased domestic partner, to the immediate ownership or possession and enjoyment of a membership certificate or stock in a cooperative housing corporation, the ownership of which entitles such member or stockholder to occupy real estate for dwelling purposes as the principal residence of the decedent and spouse or domestic partner, as applicable, shall upon the death of one of such persons, be deemed a transfer taxable in the same manner as though such property had belonged absolutely to the deceased joint tenant or joint depositor and had been devised or bequeathed by his will to the surviving joint tenant or joint tenants, person or persons, excepting therefrom such part of the property as such survivor or survivors may prove to the satisfaction of the Director of the Division of Taxation to have originally belonged to him or them and never to have belonged to the decedent.

In the case of a nonresident decedent, subsection f. of this section shall apply only to real or tangible personal property within this State.

37. R.S.54:34-2 is amended to read as follows:

Transfer inheritance tax; phase-out.

54:34-2. a. (1) The transfer of property to a husband or wife, or a domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3), of a decedent shall be taxed at the following rates:

For transfers made through December 31, 1984:

On any amount in excess of $15,000.00, up to $50,000.00 ......... 2%

On any amount in excess of $50,000.00, up to $100,000.00 ........ 3%

On any amount in excess of $100,000.00, up to $150,000.00 ....... 4 %

On any amount in excess of $150,000.00, up to $200,000.00 ....... 5%

On any amount in excess of $200,000.00, up to $300,000.00 ....... 6%

On any amount in excess of $300,000.00, up to $500,000.00 ....... 7%

On any amount in excess of $500,000.00, up to $700,000.00 ....... 8%

On any amount in excess of $700,000.00, up to $900,000.00 ....... 9%

On any amount in excess of $900,000.00, up to $1,100,000.00 ... 10%

On any amount in excess of $1,100,000.00, up to $1,400,000.00 ..11%

On any amount in excess of $1,400,000.00, up to $1,700,000.00 ..12%

On any amount in excess of $1,700,000.00, up to $2,200,000.00 ..13%

On any amount in excess of $2,200,000.00, up to $2,700,000.00 ...14%

On any amount in excess of $2,700,000.00, up to $3,200,000.00 ..15%

On any amount in excess of $3,200,000.00 .............................. 16%

For transfers made on or after January 1, 1985 there shall be no tax imposed under this paragraph.

(2) The transfer of property to a father, mother, grandparent, child or children of a decedent, or to any child or children adopted by the decedent in conformity with the laws of this State, or of any of the United States or of a foreign country, or the issue of any child or legally adopted child of a decedent, shall be taxed at the following rates:

For transfers through June 30, 1985:

On any amount in excess of $15,000.00, up to $50,000.00 ........ 2%

On any amount in excess of $50,000.00, up to $100,000.00 ....... 3%

On any amount in excess of $100,000.00, up to $150,000.00 ...... 4%

On any amount in excess of $150,000.00, up to $200,000.00 ...... 5%

On any amount in excess of $200,000.00, up to $300,000.00 ...... 6%

On any amount in excess of $300,000.00, up to $500,000.00 ...... 7%

On any amount in excess of $500,000.00, up to $700,000.00 ...... 8%

On any amount in excess of $700,000.00, up to $900,000.00 ...... 9%

On any amount in excess of $900,000.00, up to $1,100,000.00 ... 10%

On any amount in excess of $1,100,000.00, up to $1,400,000.00 . 11%

On any amount in excess of $1,400,000.00, up to $1,700,000.00 . 12%

On any amount in excess of $1,700,000.00, up to $2,200,000.00 ..13%

On any amount in excess of $2,200,000.00, up to $2,700,000.00 ..14%

On any amount in excess of $2,700,000.00, up to $3,200,000.00 ..15%

On any amount in excess of $3,200,000.00 .............................. 16%

For transfers made from July 1, 1985 through June 30, 1986:

On any amount in excess of $50,000.00, up to $100,000.00 ....... 3%

On any amount in excess of $100,000.00, up to $150,000.00 ...... 4%

On any amount in excess of $150,000.00, up to $200,000.00 ...... 5%

On any amount in excess of $200,000.00, up to $300,000.00 ...... 6%

On any amount in excess of $300,000.00, up to $500,000.00 ...... 7%

On any amount in excess of $500,000.00, up to $700,000.00 ...... 8%

On any amount in excess of $700,000.00, up to $900,000.00 ...... 9%

On any amount in excess of $900,000.00, up to $1,100,000.00 ....10%

On any amount in excess of $1,100,000.00, up to $1,400,000.00 ..11%

On any amount in excess of $1,400,000.00, up to $1,700,000.00 ..12%

On any amount in excess of $1,700,000.00, up to $2,200,000.00 ..13%

On any amount in excess of $2,200,000.00, up to $2,700,000.00 ..14%

On any amount in excess of $2,700,000.00, up to $3,200,000.00 ..15%

On any amount in excess of $3,200,000.00 ............................. 16%

For transfers made from July 1, 1986 through June 30, 1987: