Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires 9-1-1 service facilities be equipped with Next Generation 9-1-1 system and provides funding for that purpose; makes texting the 9-1-1 emergency system without purpose of reporting need for 9-1-1 service a fourth degree crime.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning 9-1-1 service, amending P.L.1989, c.3 and N.J.S.2C:33-3, and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 8 of P.L.1989, c.3 (C.52:17C-8) is amended to read as follows:
8. a. Each public safety answering point shall be capable of dispatching or forwarding requests for law enforcement, fire fighting, emergency medical services, or other emergency services to a public or private safety agency that provides the requested services.
b. Each public safety answering point shall be equipped with a system approved by the office for the processing of requests for emergency services for the physically disabled. [No] A person shall not connect to a telephone company's network any automatic alarm or other automatic alerting device which causes the number "9-1-1" to be automatically dialed and which provides a prerecorded message in order to directly access emergency services, except for devices which may be approved by the office. Devices approved by the office shall be registered with the office on forms provided by the office.
c. Each entity operating a public safety answering point shall be responsible for obtaining, operating, and maintaining enhanced 9-1-1 termination equipment. The operations and maintenance of this equipment shall be in accordance with standards set forth by the office pursuant to section 3 of [this act] P.L.1989, c.3 (C.52:17C-3).
d. No later than the third year following the enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), each public safety answering point shall be equipped with a Next Generation 9-1-1 system approved by the office in a manner that is consistent with federal law, for the processing of requests for emergency services sent via an electronic message. For the purposes of this section, "Next Generation 9-1-1 system" means an emergency 9-1-1 system that allows for the processing of electronic messages, including, but not limited to, electronic messages containing text, images, video, or data.
(cf: P.L.1989, c.3, s.8)
2. N.J.S.2C:33-3 is amended to read as follows:
2C:33-3. False Public Alarms.
a. (1) (a) Except as otherwise
provided in this section, a person is guilty of a crime of the third degree if
he initiates or circulates a report or warning of an impending fire, explosion,
crime, catastrophe, emergency, or any other incident knowing that the report or
warning is false or baseless and that it is likely to cause evacuation of a
building, place of assembly, or facility of public transport, or to cause
public inconvenience or alarm.
(b) A person is guilty of a crime of the second degree if the false alarm involves a report or warning of an impending bombing, hostage situation, person armed with a deadly weapon as defined by subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:11-1, or any other incident that elicits an immediate or heightened response by law enforcement or emergency services.
(c) A person is guilty of a crime of the second degree if the false alarm involves a report or warning about any critical infrastructure located in this State. For purposes of this subparagraph, "critical infrastructure" means any building, place of assembly, or facility that is indispensably necessary for national security, economic stability, or public safety.
(2) A person is guilty of a crime of the third degree if he knowingly causes the false alarm to be transmitted to or within any organization, official or volunteer, for dealing with emergencies involving danger to life or property.
b. A person is guilty of a crime of the second degree if in addition to the report or warning initiated, circulated or transmitted under subsection a. of this section, he places or causes to be placed any false or facsimile bomb in a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transport or in a place likely to cause public inconvenience or alarm. A violation of this subsection is a crime of the first degree if it occurs during a declared period of national, State or county emergency.
c. A person is guilty of a crime of the second degree if a violation of subsection a. of this section in fact results in serious bodily injury to another person or occurs during a declared period of national, State or county emergency. A person is guilty of a crime of the first degree if a violation of subsection a. of this section in fact results in death.
d. For the purposes of this section, "in fact" means that strict liability is imposed. It shall not be a defense that the death or serious bodily injury was not a foreseeable consequence of the person's acts or that the death or serious bodily injury was caused by the actions of another person or by circumstances beyond the control of the actor. The actor shall be strictly liable upon proof that the crime occurred during a declared period of national, State or county emergency. It shall not be a defense that the actor did not know that there was a declared period of emergency at the time the crime occurred.
e. A person is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree if the person knowingly places a call or sends an electronic message via a wireless telephone or electronic communication device to a 9-1-1 emergency telephone system without purpose of reporting the need for 9-1-1 service.
All local and county law enforcement authorities shall submit an annual report, on a form prescribed by the Attorney General, to the Uniform Crime Reporting Unit, within the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, or to another designated recipient determined by the Attorney General, containing the number and nature of offenses under this section committed within their respective jurisdictions and the disposition of these offenses. Every two years, the Uniform Crime Reporting Unit or other designated recipient of the annual reports shall forward a summary of all reports received during the preceding two-year period, along with a summary of offenses investigated by the Division of State Police for the same period, to the State's Office of Emergency Management.
(cf: P.L.2015, c.156, s.1)
3. (New section) a. The fees imposed pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2004, c.48 (C.52:17C-18) shall be increased by 10 percent for bills issued for billing periods ending on or after the operative date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and only for a period of 36 calendar months following the operative date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. The increase in funds collected pursuant to this section shall only be used to equip public safety answering points with Next Generation 9-1-1 systems for the processing of requests for emergency services sent via an electronic message, pursuant to subsection d. of section 8 of P.L.1989, c.3 (C.52:17C-8).
c. The increase in funds collected pursuant to this section shall be distributed on a prioritized basis, first to county, regionalized, or other large centralized public safety answering points, followed by other public safety answering points.
d. For the purposes of this section, "Next Generation 9-1-1 system" means the same as defined in subsection d. of section 8 of P.L.1989, c.3 (C.52:17C-8).
4. This act shall take effect immediately, but remain inoperative for 60 days following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires 9-1-1 service facilities, within three years following the bill's enactment, to be equipped with a Next Generation 9-1-1 system approved by the Office of Emergency Telecommunications Services for the processing of requests for emergency services sent via electronic or text message. The bill temporarily increases the 9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Fee by 10 percent, and requires that it only be used to fund the 9-1-1 service facilities with the enhanced Next Generation 9-1-1 systems.
The bill sets forth a funding prioritization for equipping public safety answering points with Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, by requiring funding to be distributed to county, regionalized, or other large centralized public safety answering points before funding other public safety answering points.
Currently, the 9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Fee, which is used to fund the 9-1-1 system, is a $0.90 monthly fee imposed on mobile service customers and telephone company customers in this State. The bill increases the monthly fee to $0.99. The temporary fee increase will be imposed for billing periods ending on or after this bill's operative date and only for a period of 36 calendar months following the operative date.
The bill provides that a person is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree if the person knowingly sends an electronic message to a 9-1-1 emergency telephone system without purpose of reporting the need for 9-1-1 service.