Bill Text: NJ A1572 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Increases fines for littering; requires DOT to develop program for litter reporting.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-11 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A1572 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A1572-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Increases fines for littering; requires DOT to develop program for litter reporting.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning littering, supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, and amending R.S.39:4-63, R.S.39:4-64, and P.L.1985, c.533.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) No later than one year after the effective date of this section, the Department of Transportation shall develop a program which allows persons to report acts of littering to the department. The program shall allow a person to report littering by phone and electronically, including on the department's Internet website or on an application capable of running on mobile electronic devices. The electronic means of reporting shall include the ability for a person to transmit images to the department. The department shall review all reports submitted under the program and, if deemed credible, shall send a formal notification to the person deemed to have littered, which informs the person about the littering offense and the penalties associated with littering, and urges the person to help keep New Jersey clean.
2. Section 8 of P.L.1985, c.533 (C.13:1E-99.3) is amended to read as follows:
8. a. A person who throws, drops, discards or otherwise places any litter of any nature upon public or private property other than in a litter receptacle commits a petty disorderly persons offense, and notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:43-3 to the contrary, for every such offense shall be fined not less than [$100] $200 or more than [$500] $600 . The Superior Court and every municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce this section. The State or any municipality may institute proceedings under this section. If a money judgment is rendered against a defendant, all but $100 of the payment made to the court shall be remitted to the chief financial officer of the municipality wherein the violation occurred, to be used by the municipality to help finance litter control activities in addition to or supplementing existing litter pickup and removal activities in the municipality. The remaining $100 shall be remitted to the Department of Transportation to fund the litter reporting program developed pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. If a person violates subsection a. of this section the court, in addition to any penalty imposed under that subsection, may direct the person to perform community service, including litter pickup and removal from any public property, or any private property with permission of the owner, upon which the person deposited litter, for a term of not less than 20 hours nor more than 40 hours.
c. A person who is convicted of an offense under subsection a. of this section within six months after the date of a previous conviction thereunder shall be sentenced to pay a fine not less than $250 or more than $1,000, may be sentenced to imprisonment for a definite term not to exceed 60 days, and may be directed to perform community service, including litter pickup and removal from any public property or from any private property if permission of the owner has been granted, for a term of not less than 40 nor more than 80 hours.
(cf: P.L.2001, c.78, s.1)
3. R.S.39:4-63 is amended to read as follows:
39:4-63. A person who throws, places or deposits, or who permits to be thrown, placed, or deposited from a motor vehicle, any glass or other sharp, injurious or cutting substance in or upon a public highway of this State shall, except when acting under the authority of the governing body of a municipality, be punished by a fine of not less than [$100.00] $200 nor more than [$500.00] $600 and may forfeit his right to operate a motor vehicle over the highways of this State for a period of 30 days. For each fine collected pursuant to this section, $100 shall be remitted to the Department of Transportation to fund the litter reporting program developed pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.1980, c.100, s.1)
4. R.S.39:4-64 is amended to read as follows:
39:4-64. a. No person shall throw or drop any bundle, object, article or debris of any nature from a vehicle whether in motion or not when such vehicle is on a highway. The words "object, article or debris of any nature" as used in this section shall be deemed to include a cigarette, cigar, match, or ashes, or any substance or thing in and of itself likely to cause or fuel a fire, but such inclusion shall not be deemed to in any way limit the generality of the words "object, article or debris of any nature." Any person who violates this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than [$200] $300 or more than [$1,000] $1,100 for each offense. For each fine collected pursuant to this section, $100 shall be remitted to the Department of Transportation to fund the litter reporting program developed pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle, if present in the vehicle, or, in his absence, the driver of the vehicle, is presumed to be responsible for any violation of this section, if:
(1) A bundle, object, article or debris of any nature is thrown or dropped from the vehicle by an occupant of the vehicle;
(2) There are two or more occupants in the vehicle; and
(3) It cannot be determined which occupant of the vehicle is the violator.
(cf: P.L.1992, c.171, s.1)
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish a program that enables people to report acts of littering that they witness. The program would allow reports to be submitted via phone or electronically, including on the DOT 's website or using a mobile application. The electronic reporting methods would allow people to submit images. The DOT would be required to review the reports, and, if credible, to send a formal notice to the litterer about the littering offense and the penalties associated with littering. The notice would also urge the litterer to help keep New Jersey clean.
The bill would also increase the fees for littering in R.S.39:4-63, R.S.39:4-64, and P.L.1985, c.533 by $100 each. The extra funds collected would be remitted to the DOT to be used to fund the litter reporting program. The program is based on an existing program in North Carolina, known as "Swat-A-Litterbug."
