ASSEMBLY, No. 3904

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2018

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  JOHN F. MCKEON

District 27 (Essex and Morris)

Assemblywoman  MILA M. JASEY

District 27 (Essex and Morris)

Assemblywoman  HOLLY T. SCHEPISI

District 39 (Bergen and Passaic)

Senator  GERALD CARDINALE

District 39 (Bergen and Passaic)

Senator  BRIAN P. STACK

District 33 (Hudson)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Calabrese, Assemblywomen Murphy and McKnight

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     “Tommy’s Law”; requires NJT to take certain action and adopt policies concerning person injured or killed in incidents involving NJT motorbuses and rail or light rail vehicles.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning certain services provided by the New Jersey Transit Corporation, designated as “Tommy’s Law,” and supplementing P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-1 et al.).

 

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

 

     1.    a.  The corporation shall designate an employee within the New Jersey Transit Police Department to serve as a liaison between the corporation and the New Jersey Transit Police Department and a person injured, or any member of the person’s immediate family if the person was killed, as a result of an incident involving a motorbus or rail or light rail vehicle operated by or under contract with the corporation.  The designated employee shall:

     (1)   provide in an appropriate and sensitive manner any information, to the extent permitted by law, to the person injured or, for a person killed, a member of the person’s immediate family, and promptly respond to any reasonable inquiry by the person injured or, for a person killed, a member of the person’s immediate family; and

     (2)   upon the conclusion of an investigation related to a person injured or killed, return in an appropriate and sensitive manner all personal belongings in the possession of the corporation to the person injured or, for a person killed, a member of the person’s immediate family.

     b.    As used in P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), “member of the person’s immediate family” means a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, or next of kin.

 

     2.    a. Within 12 months of the effective date of P.L.   , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the corporation shall study methods and adopt policies to improve the corporation’s interactions with, and the return of personal belongings to, a person injured or a member of the person’s immediate family if the person was killed as a result of an incident involving a motorbus or rail or light rail vehicle operated by or under contract with the corporation.  The study shall include an analysis of methods to expedite the process and ease the burden of any person seeking the return of any personal belongings of the person injured or deceased.

 

     3.    This act shall take effect immediately.

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill is to be known as “Tommy’s Law” in memory of Thomas Ryan, who tragically died when he was struck by a train traveling approximately 70 miles per hour at the Main Street Station in Ramsey, Bergen County.

     The bill requires the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) to designate an employee within the New Jersey Transit Police Department to serve as a liaison between NJ Transit and the New Jersey Transit Police Department, and a person injured or a member of a person’s immediate family if the person was killed as a result of an incident involving a motorbus or rail or light rail vehicle operated by or under contract with NJ Transit. 

     The designated employee is to: 1) provide in an appropriate and sensitive manner any information, to the extent permitted by law, to the person injured or an immediate family member of a person killed and promptly respond to any reasonable inquiry by the person injured or an immediate family member of a person killed; and 2) upon the conclusion of an investigation related to a person injured or killed, return in an appropriate and sensitive manner all personal belongings in NJ Transit’s possession to the person injured or an immediate family member of a person killed.

     The bill also requires NJ Transit to, within 12 months of the bill’s effective date, study methods and adopt policies to improve NJ Transit’s interactions with, and the return of personal belongings to, a person injured or a member of a person’s immediate family if the person was killed as a result of an incident involving a motorbus or rail or light rail vehicle operated by or under contract with NJ Transit. The study is to include an analysis of the methods to expedite the process and ease the burden of any person seeking the return of any personal belongings of the person injured or deceased.