FISCAL NOTE TO

[Second Reprint]

SENATE, No. 133

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: AUGUST 2, 1996

      Senate Bill No. 133 (2R) of 1996 directs the Commissioner of Personnel to establish a 24-hour "Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention Services" telephone hotline. The hotline would receive and respond to calls from law enforcement officers and sheriff's officers who have been involved in any event or incident which has produced personal or job-related depression, anxiety, stress, or other psychological or emotional tension, trauma, pressure, or disorder for the officer. The hotline operators are to seek to identify those officers who should be referred to further debriefing and counseling, and to provide such referrals.

      The hotline is to be established by the Commissioner of Personnel rather than a law enforcement agency in an effort to ensure that the names of the callers and the information exchanged will not be revealed to an officer's superiors or employer. The bill does provide, however, for the commissioner to establish guidelines to provide for the tracking of an officer who exhibits such a severe emotional or psychological disorder or condition that the operator taking the call reasonably believes might result in harm to the officer or to others.

      In establishing the hotline, the commissioner is to consult with representatives from the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police, the New Jersey State Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, the New Jersey Corrections Officers Association, and other parties who can contribute to the development and operation of an effective program.

      The bill also directs the commissioner to prepare a list of licensed or certified psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers; qualified counselors; and experienced former law enforcement officers who are willing to participate in the program and provide debriefing and counseling services.

      Finally, the bill provides that funding for the hotline is to come from a surcharge of $1.00 on all fines, penalties and forfeitures for motor vehicle violations. The surcharge will be distributed $.75 to the county in which the fine, penalty or forfeiture was collected for the county's law enforcement crisis intervention services program, a program a county may establish pursuant to Senate Bill No. 134 SCA of 1996, and $.25 to the State Treasurer for the costs of the telephone hotline established under this bill. The entire $1.00 will be forwarded to the State Treasurer if a county does not have such a program.

      The Department of Personnel estimates the first-year cost at $519,000. The department notes that the cost in subsequent years will increase slightly as a result of inflation. The estimated cost includes $406,000 in salaries for six full-time and six part-time personnel, $59,000 in fringe benefits, $5,000 in materials and supplies, $19,000 in services other than personal, $9,000 for maintenance and fixed charges, and $21,000 in data processing charges.

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concurs with the department's estimate. The OLS estimates that the $1.00 surcharge on fines, penalties and forfeitures for motor vehicle violations will generate approximately $3.5 million annually. If all 21 counties establish a law enforcement crisis intervention services program under Senate Bill No. 134 Sca of 1996, $875,000 of the total will be forwarded annually to the State Treasurer to defray the costs of the hotline established by this bill, and $2,625,000 annually will be available to the counties for the law enforcement officers crisis intervention programs.

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