SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1118

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MARCH 3, 1997

      The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1118.

      As amended and released by the committee, this bill establishes a body vest replacement program for local law enforcement officers, corrections officers and the State Police.

      Under the provisions of the bill, the Attorney General would administer a grant program to provide replacement body vests for local law enforcement officers, corrections officers, and sworn and enlisted members of the State Police. The program would operate on a five-year cycle, which is important because, on average, the effective life span of a body vest is five to seven years.

      The Attorney General would promulgate appropriate rules and regulations. In developing those rules and regulations, the Attorney General is directed to adopt grant application procedures for law enforcement agencies that wish to participate in the program and identify criteria (such as crime rates and the age and condition of the vest currently used by the applicant agency's officers) to be used to prioritize grant requests. To ensure that officers are obtaining the highest quality protective gear, the Attorney General's guidelines would identify the specific brands of vests that may be purchased with grant moneys.

      To fund the program, the bill amends R.S.39:5-41 to place a $1 fee on all motor vehicle fines. All of the fee moneys would be forwarded to the State Treasurer and deposited in a special "Body Armor Replacement" fund.

      The committee amended the bill to (1) include corrections officers and the sworn and enlisted members of the State Police and (2) clarify that the fee is to be imposed only on those fines imposed and collected by a judge.

      The committee also adopted technical amendments to conform section 2 of the bill to the provisions of P.L.1996, c.95.