Bill Text: NJ A1815 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Creates "Expungement Study Commission."*
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-12-18 - Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee [A1815 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A1815-Amended.html
ASSEMBLY, No. 1815
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GILBERT "WHIP" L. WILSON
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER
District 28 (Essex)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Creates "Expungement Study Commission."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on December 11, 2014, with amendments.
An Act establishing the "Expungement 1[Waiting Period Reduction]1 Study Commission."
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. There is hereby established the "Expungement 1[Waiting Period Reduction]1 Study Commission."
a. (1) The commission shall consist of 13 members, to be appointed as follows:
(a) The Attorney General or his designee;
(b) The Commissioner of Corrections or his designee;
(c) The Commissioner of Education or his designee;
(d) Two members of the Senate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall each be of different political parties;
(e) Two members of the General Assembly, to be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, who shall each be of different political parties;
(f) The Chairman of the State Parole Board or his designee;
(g) The Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Commission or his designee;
(h) The New Jersey Public Defender or his designee;
(i) One representative from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice; and
(j) Two public members, who by experience or training have expertise in issues facing persons with criminal conviction, to be appointed by the Governor.
(2) The Governor shall designate one member as chairman and two members as vice-chairmen of the commission from among the members listed in this subsection.
(3) The commission shall organize as soon as practical after the appointment of its members.
(4) Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner provided for in the original appointments. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for travel and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the commission for its purposes.
b. The commission shall study 1[the topic of whether the waiting periods for the expungement of criminal records should be reduced] whether expungement should be automatic, without the necessity for a petition to the Superior Court as set forth in N.J.S.2C:52-7, and whether the expungement of multiple offenses should be allowed1. The commission shall include as part of its study an examination of the impact of a criminal conviction on various aspects of life for a convicted 1[persons] person1 including, but not limited to, employment, licensing, housing1,1 and education.
c. The commission may meet at the call of its chair and hold hearings at the times and in the places it may deem appropriate and necessary to fulfill its charge. The commission shall be entitled to call to its assistance, and avail itself of the services of, the employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission1,1 or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.
d. Within 18 months after organizing, the commission shall submit a final report to the Governor and the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) along with any recommendations it deems appropriate, including any legislative proposals it may wish to make. The commission shall expire on the 30th day after the date of the issuance of its final report.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
