Bill Text: NJ A2592 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Chaptered

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Bill Title: "Sara's Law;" requires Motor Vehicle Commission to establish next-of-kin program.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-1)

Status: (Passed) 2011-04-06 - Approved P.L.2011, c.47. [A2592 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2010-A2592-Chaptered.html

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§§1,2,4 -

C.39:4-134.2 to

39:4-134.4

§5 - Note

 

P.L.2011, CHAPTER 47, approved April 6, 2011

Assembly, No. 2592 (Second Reprint)

 

 

An Act concerning motor vehicle safety, designated as Sara's Law, supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.1980, c.47. 

 

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

 

     1.    (New section)  a.  The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall develop an Internet ¹[next-of-kin program] emergency contact information registry program.  Under the program, the chief administrator shall establish and maintain an automated Statewide Internet registry to be known as the "Next-of-Kin Registry," which shall be capable of storing emergency contact information to be accessible by law enforcement officials for the purposes established in section 2 of P.L.    , c.   (C.       ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)¹. Under the program, the holder of any New Jersey State ¹validated permit, probationary ²[,]² or basic¹ driver's license ²,² or ²[¹a¹]² non-driver identification card ¹[shall have the opportunity to] may¹ voluntarily submit, via the Internet, the name and telephone number of ²[three] two² emergency contacts to the ¹"Next-of-Kin Registry," accessible through the¹ Motor Vehicle ¹[Commission] Commission's website¹ . 

     b.    In implementing this program, the chief administrator shall establish a process whereby the holder of any ¹validated permit, probationary or basic¹ driver's license ¹,¹ or non-driver identification card may electronically sign onto the Motor Vehicle Commission web site using ¹[their] the holder's validated permit, probationary or basic¹ driver's license number or non-driver identification card number.  The ¹permit holder,¹ licensee ¹,¹ or card holder may then submit the name and telephone number of up to ²[three] two² emergency contacts ¹to be stored¹ in  the ¹[commission's official web site] "Next-of-Kin Registry"¹.  A ¹permit holder,¹ licensee ¹,¹ or ¹non-driver identification¹ card holder who submits the name and telephone number of an emergency contact shall have the opportunity to revise or update the emergency contact information at any time. 

     c.     ¹[The chief administrator shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining a standardized and automated Statewide registry capable of storing and distributing emergency contact information to law enforcement officials.  The chief administrator shall strive to ensure that the information contained in the Internet registry is updated as appropriate in a timely and efficient manner. 

     d.]¹   Information in the ¹[registry] "Next-of-Kin Registry"¹ shall be ¹[accessible only by] available for the exclusive use of¹ law enforcement officials ¹,¹ and employees of the commission ¹[that] who¹ are designated by the chief administrator ¹, for the purposes of discharging their duties pursuant to P.L.    , c.   (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)¹.  Any emergency contact information submitted to the commission shall not be considered a public record pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) ¹[or] ,¹ P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.) ¹, or the common law concerning access to public records and shall not be discoverable as a public record by any person, entity, or governmental agency, except upon a subpoena issued by a grand jury or a court order in a criminal matter¹.

      ¹[e.] d.^{1  2}The chief administrator and employees of the commission who are designated by the chief administrator, for the purposes of discharging their duties pursuant to P.L.    , c.   (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall not be liable to any person for civil damages, or subject to criminal prosecution resulting from or caused by: (1) any disruption or failure in Internet service caused by any accident, malfunction, act of sabotage or God, or any other condition or circumstance that the commission has not, directly or indirectly, caused and which results in, or prevents, the holder of any New Jersey State validated permit, probationary or basic driver's license, or non-driver identification card from accessing, or inputting information into, the "Next-of-Kin Registry" or which results in, or prevents, the chief administrator and designated commission employees and law enforcement officers from accessing, establishing, or maintaining the "Next-of-Kin Registry"; (2) any misuse of, or the failure or omission to input accurate information, or the inputting of inaccurate or outdated information into the "Next-of-Kin Registry" by any holder of any New Jersey State validated permit, probationary or basic driver's license, or non-driver identification card; or (3) the inability of any law enforcement officer to make contact, in good faith, with any designated emergency contact person.  This limitation of liability is inapplicable if such failure resulted from a malicious purpose or a wanton and willful disregard for the safety of persons or property.

   e.²  For the purposes of ¹[this act] P.L.    , c.   (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)¹, "emergency contact person" or "emergency contact" means a person, eighteen years of age or older, ¹[who] whom¹ the holder of any New Jersey State ¹validated permit, probationary or basic¹ driver's license ¹,¹ or non-driver identification card ¹has¹ designated to be contacted by law enforcement personnel when the ¹permit holder,¹ licensee ¹,¹ or ¹non-driver identification¹ card holder is rendered unable to communicate due to a motor vehicle accident resulting in the serious bodily injury, death, or incapacitation of the ¹permit holder,¹ licensee ¹,¹ or ¹non-driver identification¹ card holder.  An "emergency contact person" or "emergency contact" may or may not be the next-of-kin of the ¹permit holder,¹ licensee ¹,¹  or ¹non-driver identification¹ card holder; except that if the ¹permit holder,¹ licensee ¹,¹  or card holder is under the age of eighteen and is not emancipated, the emergency contact person shall be the parent or guardian of that ¹permit holder,¹ licensee ¹,¹ or card holder.  

 

     2.  (New section) ²a.²  When a motor vehicle accident results in the serious bodily injury, death, or incapacitation of a driver or any passenger, the law enforcement officer investigating the motor vehicle accident shall attempt to locate an emergency contact person by accessing the ¹[emergency contact database] "Next-of-Kin Registry,"¹ established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.    ,c.     (C.             ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill.).  ¹[That] The¹ law enforcement officer shall, when practicable, expeditiously notify the emergency contact of ¹[any] each¹ person involved in the motor vehicle accident and inform the emergency contact of the hospital or other location at which the driver or passenger may be receiving medical treatment.

     ²b.  No law enforcement officer or law enforcement employee shall be liable to any person for civil damages, or subject to criminal prosecution resulting from or caused by: (1) any disruption or failure in Internet service caused by any accident, malfunction, act of sabotage or God, or any other condition or circumstance that the commission has not, directly or indirectly, caused and which results in, or prevents, the holder of any New Jersey State validated permit, probationary or basic driver's license, or non-driver identification card from accessing, or inputting information into, the "Next-of-Kin Registry" or which results in, or prevents, the chief administrator and designated commission employees and law enforcement officers from accessing, establishing, or maintaining the "Next-of-Kin Registry"; (2) any misuse of, or the failure or omission to input accurate information, or the inputting of inaccurate or out-dated information into the "Next-of-Kin Registry" by any holder of any New Jersey State validated permit, probationary or basic driver's license, or non-driver identification card; or (3) the inability of any law enforcement officer to make contact, in good faith, with any designated emergency contact person.  This limitation of liability is inapplicable if such failure resulted from a malicious purpose or a wanton and willful disregard for the safety of persons or property.²

 

     3.  Section 2 of P.L.1980, c.47 (C.39:3-29.3) is amended to read as follows: 

     2.  The ¹[Division of Motor Vehicles] New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission¹ shall issue an identification card to any resident of the State who is [17] 14 years of age or older and who is not the holder of a valid ¹[learner's]¹ permit or ¹[a valid] basic¹ driver's license.  The identification card shall attest to the true name, correct age, and other identifying data as certified by the applicant for such identification card. Every application for an identification card shall be signed and verified by the applicant and shall be ¹accompanied by the written consent of at least one parent or the person's legal guardian if the person is under 17 years of age and shall be¹ supported by such documentary evidence of the age and identity, or blindness, disability, or handicap, of such person as the ¹[division] chief administrator¹ may require.  In addition to requiring an applicant for an identification card to submit satisfactory proof of identity and age, the ¹[director] chief administrator¹ also shall require the applicant to provide, as a condition for obtaining the card, satisfactory proof that the applicant's presence in the United States is authorized under federal law.  If the ¹[director] chief administrator¹ has reasonable cause to suspect that any document presented by an applicant as proof of identity, age or legal residency is altered, false or otherwise invalid, the ¹[director] chief administrator¹ shall refuse to grant the identification card until such time as the document may be verified by the issuing agency to the ¹[director's] chief administrator's¹ satisfaction.

(cf:  P.L.2001, c.391, s.14)

 

     4.    The chief administrator may adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act.    

 

     5.    This act shall take effect on the first day of the ²[thirteenth] nineteenth² month after enactment, but the chief administrator may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the timely implementation of this act.

                                

 

     "Sara's Law;" requires Motor Vehicle Commission to establish next-of-kin program.