ASSEMBLY, No. 889

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman GARRETT

An Act concerning paging devices and repealing Section 1 of P.L.1989, c.232.

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

    1. Section 1 of P.L.1989, c.232 (C.2C:33-18) is repealed.

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill repeals the 1989 law that made it a disorderly persons offense for any person to provide a remote paging device to any person under the age of 18 unless it is necessary for medical reasons or for the legitimate business purposes of the youth's lawful employer. The law also permits the seizure of these devices when possessed in violation of the law.

    Though intended to limit the availability and use of such devices in illegal activity, such as drug trafficking, this law is so broadly written that parents who use these devices to keep track of their children may be charged under its provisions. Statutes which prohibit pagers on school property without the permission of the school authorities and which make their use illegal in connection with certain crimes would be retained.

Repeals prohibition on provision of pagers to persons under 18.