Bill Text: NJ A2833 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires notice to be provided by municipal court to applicant for public defender of fee and process to waive fee for inability to pay.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee [A2833 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A2833-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Quijano, Reynolds-Jackson, Lopez and Assemblyman Conaway
SYNOPSIS
Requires notice to be provided by municipal court to applicant for public defender of fee and process to waive fee for inability to pay.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning certain municipal court notice and supplementing P.L.1997, c.256.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. In any municipality that requires by ordinance a person applying for representation by a municipal public defender to pay an application fee pursuant to section 17 of P.L.1997, c.256 (C.2B:24-17), the municipal court shall be required to provide notice to all applicants of the application fee and the process to waive the fee in the event the applicant is unable to pay. No fee other than that permitted by section 17 of P.L. 1997, c.256 (C.2B:24-17) shall be assessed for representation by a municipal public defender.
2. This act shall take effect 60 days after enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that if a municipality requires by ordinance that a person applying for representation by a municipal public defender pay an application fee, the municipal court would be required to provide notice to the applicant of the fee and the process to waive the fee in the event of any inability to pay. No fee other than that permitted by section 17 of P.L.1997, c.256 (C.2B:24-17) is to be assessed for representation by a municipal public defender.
Under the provisions of
section 17 of P.L.1997, c.256
(C.2B:24-17), a municipality may require by ordinance that a person applying
for municipal public defender representation pay an application fee of not more
than $200. The statute provides that the fee must be in an amount necessary to
pay the costs of municipal public defender services. The municipal court may
waive the application fee if the court determines upon a clear and convincing
showing by the applicant that the fee represents an unreasonable burden on the
person seeking representation.
The bill would take effect 60 days after enactment.
