Sponsored by:
Senator STEPHEN M. SWEENEY
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes regional municipal court pilot program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 13, 2021, with amendments.
An Act concerning municipal courts, and supplementing Title 2B of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. 1a.1 The Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish a regional municipal court pilot program in no fewer than three counties and no fewer than five municipalities in each county. The Administrative Director of the Courts in consultation with the assignment judges shall select appropriate counties and municipalities for the implementation of the program.
1b. Any county that has considered municipal court consolidation on a county-wide basis prior to the enactment of P.L. c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) may submit that information to the Administrative Director of the Courts and that county shall be included in the pilot program.
c. The population and population density figures set forth in subsection e. of N.J.S. 2B:12-1 shall not apply to any regional municipal court in any county participating in this pilot program, including any county included pursuant to subsection b. of this section.1
2. A regional municipal court shall have jurisdiction over all matters falling within the jurisdiction of the municipal courts in the pilot program. All complaints issued in the county by the State Police or any statewide law enforcement agency, or by any county law enforcement agency, any county code enforcement entity, or by any other non-municipal law enforcement agency, shall also fall within the jurisdiction of the regional municipal court, consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.2B:12-17 and N.J.S.2B:12-18.
3. 1a.1 Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, fines and costs collected by the regional municipal court shall be retained by the regional municipal court on a pro rata basis equal to the costs associated with management, administration, operation, judge and staff salaries, and technology for the regional municipal court. The remainder of the fines and costs collected by the regional municipal court shall be distributed in accordance with N.J.S.22A:3-4, R.S.39:5-40, R.S.39:5-41, and subsection c. of section 3 of P.L.1979, c.396 (C.2C:46-4).
1b. A county participating in the pilot program may consider determining budgets for participating municipalities in that county by way of an assessment based on each participating municipality’s equalized value as determined by the appropriate county board of taxation.1
4. Judicial appointments to the regional municipal court shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Article VI, Section VI, paragraph 1 of the State Constitution. The assignment judge of the vicinage shall have the authority to make a temporary appointment in the event of a vacancy.
5. 1[The] Any regional municipal court established in a county that is included in the pilot program pursuant to subsection b. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), because that county considered municipal court consolidation on a county-wide basis prior to the enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and submitted information on that previous consideration to the Administrative Director of the Courts, shall begin hearing cases no later than January 1, 2022, and any1 regional municipal court 1in any other county selected by the Administrative Director of the Courts for the1 pilot 1[programs] program1 shall begin hearing cases 1no later than1 one year following enactment.
6. This act shall take effect 1[180] 601 days after enactment except the Administrative Director of the Courts may take any anticipatory action in advance as the director deems necessary for the implementation of the pilot program.