STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 641

with Senate Floor Amendments

(Proposed by Senator BEACH)

ADOPTED: JUNE 21, 2018

      This floor amendment:

· deletes the language of the bill that required a person having reasonable cause to believe that a child has been subjected to an act of sexual abuse or any sexual offense defined in chapter 14 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes to immediately report the act or offense to law enforcement officials.  Child abuse, however, includes sexual abuse; therefore the requirement to make a report to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency under these circumstances remains;

· provides that the upgraded penalty for knowingly failing to report, applies only to child sexual abuse, not to sexual offenses defined in chapter 14 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.