S213

An Act concerning local adjudication of fish and game laws, and amending R.S.23:10-19.

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

1. R.S.23:10-19 is amended to read as follows:

23:10-19. [All] a. (1) Except as otherwise provided by paragraph (2) of this subsection, or by any other law, any moneys recovered for [violations] a violation of this Title, or any provision of [any] law supplementary thereto, or any provision of the State Fish and Game Code shall [, except as otherwise specifically provided,] be paid , in full, to the Division of Fish and [Game] Wildlife for its use and purposes.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection or any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, whenever a court action is undertaken in the municipal court of a small municipality, which court action results in the recovery of moneys for a violation of this Title, any provision of law supplementary thereto, or any provision of the State Fish and Game Code, 50 percent of the moneys recovered for the violation shall be paid to the Division of Fish and Wildlife for its use and purposes, and the remaining 50 percent of recovered moneys shall be paid to the governing body of the small municipality in which the court action took place, for the use and purposes of the municipality.

b. Except where prohibited by federal law, whenever a court action is undertaken in the municipal court of a small municipality, which court action results in the recovery of moneys for a violation of a federal fish and game law or regulation, 50 percent of the recovered moneys shall be paid to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, for its use and purposes, and the remaining 50 percent of recovered moneys shall be paid to the governing body of the municipality in which the court action took place, for the use and purposes of the municipality. In all other cases, and unless prohibited by federal law, any penalty moneys recovered for a violation of a federal fish and game law or regulation shall be paid, in full, to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, for its use and purposes.

c. Any court official or other authorized person [receiving such] who receives moneys that have been recovered for [violations] a violation of this Title, [or] any provision of [any] law supplementary thereto, or any provision of the State Fish and Game Code, [who fails to] or that have been recovered for a violation of a federal fish and game law or regulation, shall, within 30 days after the receipt of such moneys, forward the same to the Division of Fish and [Game within thirty days after receipt of same] Wildlife or the governing body of the small municipality in which the court action took place, as provided in this section. Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a [misdemeanor] crime of the fourth degree.

d. For the purposes of this section, “small municipality” means a municipality that has a permanent population of less than 2,000 persons .

(cf: P.L.1948, c.448, s.87)

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would provide for the reimbursement of small municipalities that are involved in the adjudication of State and federal fish and game laws.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife is generally responsible for overseeing and enforcing fish and game laws in the State, and State law currently provides that all penalty amounts recovered for violations of the State’s fish and game laws, rules, and regulations must be paid, in full, to the division. This provision of law, however, fails to recognize that local governments are often left with the burden of paying, at their own expense, the costs associated with the adjudication of fish and game violations. Small municipalities – defined under the bill as those that have “a permanent population of less than 2,000 persons” – are particularly ill equipped to finance these judicial efforts.

This bill would, therefore, amend the law to provide that whenever a court action is undertaken in the municipal court of a small municipality, which court action results in the assessment of penalty moneys for a violation of the State’s fish and game laws, 50 percent of the recovered moneys must be paid to the governing body of the municipality in which the court action took place, while the remaining 50 percent of recovered moneys must be paid to the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

The bill would also entitle a small municipality to receive 50 percent of the moneys recovered for a violation of a federal fish and game law or regulation when the moneys are recovered as a result of a municipal court action undertaken in the small municipality, so long as such action is not prohibited by federal law. In all other cases of federal fish and game law enforcement, however, and unless prohibited by federal law, any recovered moneys would be paid, in full, to the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

A person who fails to forward recovered moneys to the division or the adjudicating small municipality, as required by the bill, would be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree. Although this offense currently exists in the law, it is referenced as a “misdemeanor” – an outdated term that is no longer used in the State. Because a crime that was previously characterized as a misdemeanor is now classified as a crime of the fourth degree, the bill updates the language in the existing law without changing the penalty for the offense.