SENATE, No. 2318

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED DECEMBER 11, 1997

By Senator CASEY

An Act concerning the State Police and supplementing Title 53 of the Revised Statutes.

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

    1. As used in this act:

    "Billable patrolled municipality" means a patrolled municipality, with a population density per square mile greater than the average population density of all patrolled municipalities, according to the 1990 decennial census.

    "Division" means the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

    "Patrolled municipality" means a municipality, without a police force, which is patrolled by the Division of State Police on a full-time basis.

    "Superintendent" means the Superintendent of the Division of the State Police.

    2. The superintendent shall determine the annual cost of providing State Police patrol services to billable patrolled municipalities and, within six months of the effective date of this act, shall notify these municipalities that they will be required to reimburse the State for this cost. Within 90 days of receipt of this notice, a billable patrolled municipality shall inform the superintendent whether it wishes to reimburse the State for State Police services or establish its own police force. Effective on the first day of the 14th month following the effective date of this act, the superintendent shall monthly provide to billable patrolled municipalities an itemized bill for State Police services provided in the previous month. A billable patrolled municipality shall remit payment to the State for services billed. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.53:2-1, to the contrary, State Police services provided to billable patrolled municipalities which elect not to reimburse the State for these services shall be discontinued.

    3. There is established in the Department of Treasury a nonlapsing, revolving fund to be known as the "State Trooper Patrol Fund." Moneys collected in payment for State Police patrol services shall be deposited in this fund and all interest shall accrue to this fund. The fund shall be used solely to defray the cost of State Police services to billable patrolled municipalities. Moneys in the fund shall be allocated annually to defray the cost to the division of assigning troopers to patrolled municipalities.

    4. Pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the superintendent may promulgate all rules and regulations necessary to carry out this act.

    5. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill requires certain municipalities that presently rely on State Trooper patrol services, because they do not have their own police forces, to pay for these services. Currently, the State Police furnish full-time police protection to approximately 74 municipalities and part-time protection to 24 municipalities at an estimated cost of $43.8 million a year. Historically, these municipalities were sparsely populated, low-income and rural. However, over the years many of these municipalities have become increasingly suburbanized, more densely populated and wealthier. It is unfair to use the tax dollars contributed by all the taxpayers of New Jersey to subsidize free police services for those municipalities which choose not to establish their own police force.

    This bill represents a first step toward addressing this inequity. It would require the most densely populated of the 74 municipalites receiving full-time State Police services, within one year, to either begin to reimburse the State for the cost of these services or establish a police force. Municipalities with a population density greater than 107.5 residents per square mile, the average population density of the 74 municipalities, would be subject to the provisions of this act. About 44 municipalities would be affected.

    The bill directs the moneys collected be deposited into the "State Trooper Patrol Fund" to defray the costs to the Division of State Police of assigning troopers to patrol municipalities.

Requires certain municipalities to pay for State Police patrol services.