ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

ASSEMBLY, No. 4907

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  NOVEMBER 12, 2020

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably an Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill No. 4907.

      As reported by the committee, this committee substitute concerns body worn cameras for law enforcement officers and appropriates $58 million.

      Specifically, the committee substitute requires the Division of Purchase and Property in the Department of the Treasury or any other appropriate State agency to enter into a contract or, if feasible, renegotiate a contract that was entered into prior to the effective date of the bill for the purchase of body worn cameras and related services for the purpose of enabling contracting units to purchase body worn cameras and related services under that contract.  The division or State agency is permitted to enter into contracts with multiple bidders.

      In addition, the committee substitute provides that upon adoption of a resolution, a contracting unit may, without advertising for bids or having rejected all bids obtained pursuant to advertising, purchase body worn cameras or related services under any contract entered into for body worn cameras or related services under the provisions of the committee substitute on behalf of the State by the Division of Purchase and Property or a State agency.

      The committee substitute further provides that any contracting unit may make purchases under the contract awarded or renegotiated pursuant to the provisions of the committee substitute if the contract terms and conditions are most advantageous to the unit, taking into consideration price and other factors.  All purchases made by the contracting unit under the committee substitute are to be reported to the director of the division or the State agency.

      Under the provisions of the committee substitute, every State, county, and municipal law enforcement agency is required to store data from body worn cameras using a tamper-proof digital evidence management system that is compliant with Criminal Justice Information Services and has the ability to securely share data while maintaining an audit trail and chain of custody.

      In addition, the committee substitute appropriates $58 million from the General Fund to the Department of Law and Public Safety for the purchase of body worn cameras and related services by State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies.

      Finally, the committee substitute provides that on or after January 1, 2022, a law enforcement agency that purchased body worn cameras prior to the effective date of the substitute may apply for reimbursement from the appropriation under the substitute for the cost of the body worn cameras.  

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services projects that the bill will result in indeterminate annual costs for the State and local governments to store data from law enforcement body-worn cameras using a tamper-proof digital evidence management system that is compliant with Criminal Justice Information Services and has the ability to securely share data while maintaining an audit trail and chain of custody.