LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2273

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: May 30, 1997

      Assembly Bill No. 2273 of 1996 requires that a central registry of law enforcement agency records pertaining to juveniles be available to State and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors 24 hours a day. Such a registry is authorized by N.J.S.2A:4A-60 for the purpose of fostering the exchange of information between State or local law enforcement agencies of this State, other States and the federal government.

      A central registry of law enforcement records pertaining to juveniles does not presently exist. For this reason, an estimate of the cost of making the records available on a 24-hour basis, pursuant to this bill, cannot be provided.

      The Juvenile Justice Commission in the Department of Law and Public Safety plans to establish a registry of juvenile law enforcement information in the future if necessary resources are available, according to a representative of the commission. Engineering 24-hour accessibility of information into a computerized registry system should not add significantly to its cost, according to the representative.

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67.