ASSEMBLY, No. 2390
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED OCTOBER 7, 1996
By Assemblymen O'TOOLE, ZECKER and Weingarten
An Act concerning the costs of detention in municipal detention facilities, and supplementing chapter 8 of Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Each person held in a municipal detention facility shall be liable for the amount the municipality expends for that person’s custody, care and maintenance during detention.
The amount due and payable from each detainee pursuant to this section shall be determined by the authority responsible for the municipal detention facility. The amount due and payable shall be based upon the calculated per capita cost of providing for a detainee’s custody, care and maintenance in the municipal detention facility. The authority responsible for the municipal detention facility shall establish a graduated schedule setting forth the percentage of that per capita cost due and payable by a detainee based upon that detainee's ability to pay. In no case shall the amount due and payable by a detainee pursuant to this section exceed the actual, certifiable cost incurred by the municipality in providing for the custody, care and maintenance of that detainee.
2. The municipality wherein the detainee was detained shall have a lien against the property and income of that detainee for the total amount determined by the authority responsible for the municipal detention facility, pursuant to section 1 of this Act, to be due and payable by the detainee for the costs incurred by the municipality in providing for the custody, care and maintenance of that detainee. The lien when properly filed as set forth herein shall have priority over all unrecorded encumbrances.
3. The lien shall be in the form prescribed by law and shall contain the name of the detainee, date of the detainee's detention, the per capita cost rate for the detainee's detention, and the total amount due the municipality on the date of the filing of the lien, together with a notice of the rate of accumulation of that amount due thereafter, if applicable. Nothing herein shall preclude the municipality from recovering any amount it has expended for custody, care and maintenance of a detainee, but not covered by a lien.
4. The lien shall be filed with the clerk of the municipality or the register of deeds and mortgages, as the case may be, and shall immediately attach to and become binding upon all real property in the ownership of the detainee in the municipality wherein the lien is filed and shall have the force and effect of a money judgment of the Superior Court.
If it is believed that the detainee is the owner of real property within the State, but the exact location of that property is not known, then the lien may be filed with the clerk of the Superior Court and shall become binding upon all real property of the detainee wherever situate within the State.
5. If it is found that any detainee is possessed of any goods, rights, credits, chattels, moneys or effects which are held by any person, firm or corporation for the present or subsequent use of that detainee, then the lien, or a notice thereof, may be forwarded by registered mail to that person, firm or corporation and shall become binding upon any property rights so held. The person, firm or corporation shall thereafter be precluded from disposing of the property rights until the lien is satisfied or until the holder of the lien consents thereto.
Any person, firm or corporation disposing of any such property or moneys after receipt of notice of a lien authorized under this act shall be liable to the municipality for the value of the property or moneys so disposed; provided, however, that when the corporation served notice pursuant to this section is a banking institution, the lien shall be effective only in the amount set forth in that notice.
6. The clerk of the municipality, register of deeds and mortgages, or clerk of the Superior Court, as the case may be, shall provide suitable books in which shall be entered the liens filed pursuant to this act. All such entries shall be properly indexed in the name of the detainee.
All liens, and any related documentation which may be required, shall be received and recorded by the clerk of the municipality, register of deeds and mortgages, or clerk of the Superior Court, as the case may be, without fee.
7. To discharge any lien filed under the provisions of this act, the authority responsible for the municipal detention facility shall file with the clerk of the municipality, the register of deeds and mortgages, or clerk of the Superior Court, as the case may be, a duly acknowledged certificate setting forth the fact that the municipality desires to discharge the lien of record.
The governing body of the municipality, by ordinance or resolution, as appropriate, may authorize a compromise for settlement of any lien filed under the provisions of this act for the total amount due the municipality for the custody, care and maintenance provided during a detainee's detention. Any such ordinance or resolution shall provide that a memorandum of the compromise and settlement signed by the governing body shall be sufficient authorization for a complete discharge of the lien.
8. Any person desiring to secure immediate discharge of any lien filed under the provisions of this act may deposit with the court either an amount of cash sufficient to cover the amount of the lien or may post a bond in a proper amount and with sureties approved by the court. Upon proper notice being given to the authority responsible for the municipal detention facility, a satisfaction of the lien shall be filed with the clerk of the municipality or the register of deeds and mortgages, as the case may be.
9. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would authorize municipalities to charge persons held in a municipal detention facility the amount the municipality expends for that person’s custody, care and maintenance during detention in the facility.
Under the provisions of the bill, the authority responsible for the municipal detention facility is to determine the amount each detainee is to be charged. To make that determination, the per capita basis and the cost of providing for the custody, care and maintenance of detainees in the municipal detention facility are to be calculated, and a graduated schedule setting forth the percentage of the per capita cost each detainee is to be charged based upon his ability to pay is to be established. The bill specifies, however, that the amount so determined may not exceed the actual certifiable cost the municipality incurs in providing for the detainee's custody, care and maintenance in its detention facility.
To ensure that these amounts are collected, the bill authorizes municipalities to place liens against the property and income of the detainees who are assessed custody, care and maintenance charges. The bill sets forth the procedures for filing and discharging these liens, including a provision that grants municipal governing bodies the authority to agree to compromises for the settlement of any detainee lien. The bill also provides that these detainee liens have priority over all other unrecorded encumbrances.
Authorizes municipalities to charge detainees detention costs on a sliding scale and to place a lien to ensure payment.