ASSEMBLY, No. 719

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

 

 

By Assemblymen R. SMITH and GREEN

 

 

An Act concerning campus security improvements at public and private institutions of higher education and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

 

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

 

    1. As used in this act:

    "Private institution of higher education" means independent colleges or universities incorporated and located in New Jersey, which by virtue of law or character or license, are nonprofit educational institutions authorized to grant academic degrees and which provide a level of education which is equivalent to the education provided by the State's public institutions of higher education as attested by the receipt of and continuation of regional accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and which are eligible to receive State aid under the provisions of the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, but does not include any educational institution dedicated primarily to the education or training of ministers, priests, rabbis or other professional persons in the field of religion.

    "Public institution of higher education" means Rutgers, The State University, the State colleges, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, the county colleges and any other public university or college now or hereinafter established or authorized by law."

    "Student housing" means dormitories, student apartments, residence halls, and fraternity and sorority residences under the control of an institution of higher education.

 

    2. Within 90 days of the effective date of this act, each public institution of higher education shall form a security committee to study and evaluate the safety and security of the institution's campus. The study shall include, but not be limited to, an evaluation of the overall security of the campus grounds and the security of the individual buildings, structures and facilities required for the operation of the institution including student housing facilities. If the institution has more than one campus, the committee shall study and evaluate the security of all campuses.

 

    3. The governing body of the public institution shall, upon the recommendation of the institution's president, appoint the members of the security committee. The committee shall consist of nine members, three of whom shall be students enrolled in the institution, three of whom shall be faculty members at the institution, and three of whom shall be administrators at the institution. If the institution has more than one campus, the appointments to the security committee shall include representation from each campus. Each member shall be appointed to the committee for a term of two academic years except that of the members first appointed, one of the student members, one of the faculty members and one of the administrator members shall be appointed for a term of one year. Any vacancy in the membership of the committee shall be filled for the unexpired term in the manner provided for the original appointment. No member of the committee may serve more than two successive terms in addition to any unexpired term to which he has been appointed.

 

    4. The committee shall hold at least two public hearings during each academic year to receive testimony from members of the academic community and the public on the issues of campus safety and security. The committee shall also solicit recommendations on safety improvements and enhancements which need to made to the campus and its facilities. Upon the completion of the public hearings, the committee shall submit a report to the governing body of the institution which summarizes the safety and security concerns of the academic community and the public and which contains recommendations for security improvements to the campus and its buildings. The report shall be updated annually to reflect the testimony and recommendations received at the public hearings.

 

    5. Based upon the security committee's report, the governing body of the public institution shall annually prepare and submit a security plan to the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety and to the municipal police department of the municipality in which the institution is located. The report shall outline the security improvements which the institution shall implement to address the safety concerns of the academic community and to increase the security of the campus and its facilities. The governing body shall update the plan annually to reflect the information and recommendations received by the institutions's security committee during the public hearing process. An institution which has more than one campus shall submit its security plan to the municipal police department of each municipality in which a campus is located.

 

    6. A private institution of higher education shall annually prepare and submit a security plan to the State Board of Higher Education. The plan shall evaluate the overall security of the institution's campus grounds and the security of the individual buildings, structures and facilities required for the operation of the institution including student housing facilities. The plan shall also outline the security improvements which the institution shall implement to address the safety concerns of the academic community and to increase the security of the campus and its facilities.

 

    7. The State Board of Higher Education shall annually prepare and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report which outlines the campus security conditions at public institutions of higher education. The report shall detail the security improvements which need to be made at each institution, the cost of implementing the improvements, and recommendations concerning the funding of security improvement projects.

 

    8. The State Board of Higher Education may approve the allocation of funds available through the "Jobs, Education and Competitiveness Bond Act of 1988," P.L.1988, c.78, or which may become available through any other bond issues hereafter approved for higher education facilities, for security improvement projects at public and private institutions of higher education.

 

    9. The governing body of a public institution of higher education may impose a surcharge on student tuition bills to finance the cost of security improvements at the institution; however the tuition bill shall include a statement which itemizes the amount of funds spent on security improvements at the institution and the percentage of those funds derived from the tuition surcharge.

 

    10. The State Board of Higher Education shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.

 

    11. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill requires each public institution of higher education to form a security committee to study and evaluate the safety and security of the institution's campus. The committee is to hold at least two public hearings during each academic year to receive testimony from members of the academic community and the public on the issues of campus safety and security. Upon the completion of the public hearings, the committee is to submit a report to the governing body of the institution which summarizes the safety and security concerns of the academic community and contains recommendations for security improvements to the campus and its buildings.

    The bill further provides that based upon the security committee's report, the governing body of the public institution shall annually prepare and submit a security plan to the Division of State Police and to the municipal police department of the municipality in which the institution is located. The report shall outline the security improvements which the institution plans to implement to increase the security of the campus and its facilities.

    The bill also directs each private institution of higher education to annually prepare and submit a security plan to the State Board of Higher Education. The plan is to evaluate the safety and security of the institution's campus and outline the improvements which the institution shall implement to increase campus security.

    Finally, the bill directs the State Board of Higher Education to annually submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report which details campus security conditions at the public institutions of higher education, the security improvements which need to be made at the institutions, the cost of implementing the improvements, and recommendations concerning the funding of security improvement projects.

 

 

 

Requires institutions of higher education to develop campus security plans.