ASSEMBLY, No. 4486

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  JOANN DOWNEY

District 11 (Monmouth)

Assemblyman  ERIC HOUGHTALING

District 11 (Monmouth)

Assemblywoman  GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA

District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Holley, Assemblywoman Murphy, Assemblymen Bramnick and Conaway

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     “Michael Anthony Fornicola’s law”; requires hotels to have automated external defibrillators in certain areas.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning the use of automated external defibrillators in hotels, designated “Michael Anthony Fornicola’s law,” and supplementing P.L.1999, c.34 (C.2A:62A-23 et seq.).

 

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

 

     1.    The Legislature finds and declares that:

     a.     Due to the recognized health benefits provided by increased access to automated external defibrillators (AED), the Legislature has enacted several laws to require AED’s to be maintained in an accessible on-site location at various types of facilities including health clubs, public and non-public schools, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities;

     b.    The survival rate for a cardiac event can be as high as 90 percent when defibrillation is provided in the first minute after cardiac arrest, but the chances of surviving the event decrease by seven to 10 percent with each minute that passes without defibrillation;

     c.     In order to ensure that a person suffering a cardiac event while on-site at a hotel will receive timely emergency medical treatment and have the highest chance of survival, it is in the best interests of the residents of this State to require all hotels to provide an AED in each lobby, meeting room, banquet hall, and fitness center, as well as on every residential floor.

 

     2.    As used in this act:

     Automated external defibrillator” or “defibrillator” means a medical device heart monitor and defibrillator as described in section 2 of P.L.1999, c.34 (C.2A:62A-24).

     “Hotel” means any hotel, inn, boarding house, motel or other establishment the proprietor of which offers and accepts payment for rooms, sleeping accommodations, or board and lodging and retains the right of access to, and control of, the premises which are let as described in section R.S.29:2-1.

 

     3.    a.  No later than one year after the effective date of this act, the owner or operator of each hotel shall:

     (1)   Acquire, and maintain on-site at the hotel, at least one automated external defibrillator in each lobby, meeting room, banquet hall, and fitness center, as well as on every residential floor which shall remain accessible at all times;

     (2)   store and maintain each defibrillator in a central, unlocked location that is known and accessible to employees;

     (3)   ensure that each defibrillator is tested and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s operational guidelines;

     (4)   provide notification to the appropriate first aid, ambulance, or rescue squad, or other appropriate emergency medical services provider, regarding the acquisition of the defibrillators, the type, and the locations within the hotel;

     (5)   mark the location of each defibrillator with a prominent sign;

     (6)   arrange and pay for the training of employees and volunteers in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator;

     (7)   ensure, during the hours when a public or private event or activity is taking place at the hotel, that at least one employee or volunteer who has current certifications from the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, or other training program recognized by the Department of Health, in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator, is on-site and available to respond to any cardiac event; and

     (8)   ensure that an employee requests emergency medical assistance from the appropriate first aid, ambulance, or rescue squad as soon as practicable after a defibrillator is used in response to a cardiac event.

     b.    The owner or operator of each hotel shall develop and implement a cardiac event response protocol, which identifies: (1) the primary and contingency procedures to be used by employees in responding to a sudden cardiac event at the hotel; and (2) the particular employees, or types of employees, who will be responsible for retrieving and using the defibrillator, starting cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, calling 911, and assisting emergency responders in reaching the individual who is experiencing the sudden cardiac event.

 

     4.    a.  Any person who violates the provisions of section 3 of P.L.   , c.   (C.   ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be liable to a civil penalty of not less than $250 for the first violation, not less than $500 for the second violation, and not less than $1,000 for the third and each subsequent violation.

     b.    The penalty provided by this section shall be collected pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), in a summary proceeding before the municipal court having jurisdiction. An official authorized by statute or ordinance to enforce the State or local health codes, or a law enforcement officer having enforcement authority in the municipality, may issue a summons for a violation of the provisions of section 3 of this act, and may serve and execute all process with respect to the enforcement of this section, consistent with the Rules of Court.

     c.     A penalty recovered under the provisions of this section shall be recovered by and in the name of the State by the local health agency.  The penalty shall be paid into the treasury of the municipality in which the violation occurred for the general uses of the municipality.

     5.    a.  As provided by section 5 of P.L.1999, c.34 (C.2A:62A-27), a hotel, its owner and operator, and its employees and volunteers shall be immune from civil liability in association with the acquisition and use of a defibrillator in compliance with P.L.   , c.   (C.   ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

     b.    In addition to the immunity described in subsection a. of this section, a hotel, its owner and operator, and its employees and volunteers shall be immune from civil or criminal liability resulting from the malfunctioning of a defibrillator, if the defibrillator has been maintained and tested in accordance with the manufacturer’s operational guidelines.

 

     6.    The Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

 

     7.    This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment, except that the commissioner may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as may be necessary for the implementation of this act.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     Michael Anthony Fornicola passed away on May 29th 2012 due to cardiac arrests at Harrah’s Resorts in Atlantic City. The family believes that his life could have been save if an AED was available on his floor.

     This bill would require every hotel in the State to provide an automated external defibrillator (AED) in each lobby, meeting room, banquet hall, and fitness center, as well as on every residential floor.  The bill defines hotel as any hotel, inn, boarding house, motel or other establishment whose proprietor offers and accepts payment for rooms, sleeping accommodations or board and lodging and retains the right of access to, and control of, the premises which are let. 

     The bill would require the owner or operator of each hotel, within one year after the bill’s effective date, to: 

     –     acquire, and maintain on-site at the hotel, at least one defibrillator in each lobby, meeting room, banquet hall, and fitness center, which shall remain accessible at all times;

     –     store and maintain each defibrillator in a central, unlocked location that is known and accessible to employees;

     –     ensure that the defibrillator is tested and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s operational guidelines;

     –     provide notification to the appropriate first aid, ambulance, or rescue squad, or other appropriate emergency medical services provider, regarding the acquisition of the defibrillator’s, the type, and the locations within the hotel;

     –     mark the location of each defibrillator with a prominent sign;

     –     arrange and pay for the training of employees and volunteers in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and defibrillator use;

     –     ensure, during the hours when a public or private event or activity is taking place at the hotel, that at least one employee or volunteer who has current certifications from the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, or other training program recognized by the Department of Health, in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator, is on-site and available to respond to any cardiac event; and

     –     ensure that an employee requests emergency medical assistance from the appropriate first aid, ambulance, or rescue squad as soon as practicable after a defibrillator is used in response to a cardiac event.       

     This bill provides that the owner or operator of a hotel and its employees and volunteers are immune from civil liability in association with the acquisition and use of a defibrillator.  The owner or operator of a hotel and its employees and volunteers are also immune from civil or criminal liability resulting from the malfunctioning of a defibrillator, if it has been maintained and tested in accordance with the manufacturer’s operational guidelines.

     In order to ensure that a person suffering a cardiac event while on-site at a hotel will receive timely emergency medical treatment and have the highest chance of survival, it is in the best interests of the residents of this State to require all hotels to provide a defibrillator in each lobby, meeting room, banquet hall, and fitness center.