Bill Text: NJ A1185 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the "Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing" to examine activities which victimize persons, particularly women and children, and are not codified in the Code of Criminal Justice and recommend appropriate legislation for establishing such crimes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee [A1185 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A1185-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LINDA STENDER
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
Assemblyman UPENDRA J. CHIVUKULA
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Requires the "Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing" to examine activities which victimize persons, particularly women and children, and are not codified in the Code of Criminal Justice and recommend appropriate legislation for establishing such crimes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning proposals for new crimes, and amending P.L.2003, c.265.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2003, c.265 is amended to read as follows:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that, since the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice was codified in 1978 as Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes, many new criminal offenses have been added to the code and penalties for many existing offenses have been enhanced. [The] Therefore, the Legislature [further] finds and declares that a comprehensive review of these new and enhanced offenses should be conducted to determine if the sentences for these offenses are fair and proportionate to other sentences imposed under the code. The Legislature further finds and declares that the nature and scope of criminal activities continues to evolve, and modern activities which victimize persons, particularly women and children, may occur in this State which are not currently contemplated by the Code of Criminal Justice. Therefore, the Legislature finds and declares that the comprehensive review of existing criminal offenses should also examine whether adding additional criminal offenses to the code would be appropriate to respond to evolving criminal activities and to other modern activities.
(cf: P.L.2003, c.265, s.1)
2. Section 2 of P.L.2003, c.265 is amended to read as follows:
2. a. There is hereby created a commission to be known as the "Commission to Review Crimes and Criminal Sentencing" to consist of 15 members as follows: two members of the Senate to be appointed by the President thereof, who shall not be of the same political party; two members of the General Assembly to be appointed by the Speaker thereof, who shall not be of the same political party; the Attorney General, or his designee; the Commissioner of Corrections, or his designee; the Public Defender, or his designee; the Chief Justice, or his designee; the Chairman of the State Parole Board, or his designee; the President of the New Jersey County Prosecutors Association, or a representative; the President of the New Jersey State Bar Association, or a representative; one public member appointed by the Senate President; one public member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; and two public members appointed by the Governor, no more than one of whom shall be of the same political party. The public members shall serve during the existence of the commission. In selecting the public members, the Senate President, the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Governor should seek to include persons who have experience, training, or academic background in victims' rights advocacy, alcohol and drug addiction counseling, corrections, judicial administration or criminal law. The members appointed from a class of holders of public office shall remain members until the expiration of the commission or until they cease to be members of the class from which they were appointed, whichever occurs first. Any vacancy in the membership of the commission shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as the original appointment was made.
b. The commission shall organize as soon as possible after the appointment of its members. The members shall elect one of the members to serve as chair and vice-chair and the chair may appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission.
c. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.
d. The commission shall be entitled to accept the assistance and services of such employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as may be made available to it and to employ such legal, stenographic, technical, and clerical assistance and incur such expenses as may be necessary in order to perform its duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes.
3. Section 3 of P.L.2003, c.265 shall be amended to read as follows:
3. a. It shall be the duty of the commission to review the statutory law pertaining to sentences imposed for criminal offenses and make recommendations for legislation to be enacted by the Legislature that would ensure that these sentences are fair and proportionate to other sentences imposed for criminal offenses.
b. It shall also be the duty of the commission to review the statutory law pertaining to criminal offenses and make recommendations for legislation to be enacted by the Legislature that would ensure that activities which are not currently criminal offenses, but which victimize persons, and particularly women and children, become criminal offenses with appropriate sentences imposed. The commission shall examine criminal offenses from the statutory law of other states and the federal government, such as those criminal offenses related to sex trafficking and forced labor, in making its recommendations.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the "Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing" to examine activities which victimize persons, particularly women and children, not codified in the Code of Criminal Justice (Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes) and recommend appropriate legislation for establishing such crimes. The commission, established on January 14, 2004, is responsible for examining the criminal code in its entirety regarding the fairness and proportionality of all sentences imposed under the code. P.L.2003, c.265. This existing responsibility provides the commission with the broad authority, expertise, and resources necessary to accomplish the objectives set forth in the bill.
The commission would be renamed the "Commission to Review Crimes and Criminal Sentencing" as a reflection of its new responsibilities. The commission, pursuant to the duties proposed in the bill, would be required to examine the statutory law of other states as well as the federal government. These other statutory jurisdictions may possess criminal offenses which do not exist in New Jersey but would be appropriate to address activities victimizing persons in this State. As such, these jurisdictions would provide relevant source material for the development of new criminal offenses for consideration by the Legislature.
The sponsor would specifically urge the commission to examine the array of criminal offenses regarding sex trafficking and forced labor set forth by the federal government in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Pub.L. No.106-386 (18 U.S.C.A. s.1584 et seq.), to determine the potential for replicating such crimes in New Jersey.
