Bill Text: NJ A4551 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires issuance of tourniquets to law enforcement officers; requires emergency service vehicles be equipped with tourniquets.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-30 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee [A4551 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A4551-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DAVID W. WOLFE
District 10 (Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Clifton
SYNOPSIS
Requires issuance of tourniquets to law enforcement officers; requires emergency service vehicles be equipped with tourniquets.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning law enforcement officers and emergency service vehicles and supplementing various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The superintendent shall issue a tourniquet to every State trooper.
b. The tourniquets required by subsection a. of this section may be funded by forfeiture funds collected pursuant to N.J.S.2C:64-6, in an amount to be determined by the Attorney General.
c. The Attorney General is authorized to promulgate guidelines or directives, as appropriate, to implement and enforce the provisions of this section.
2. a. The chief law enforcement officer of a county or municipal police department shall issue a tourniquet to every law enforcement officer in that county or municipal police department.
b. The tourniquets required by subsection a. of this section may be funded by forfeiture funds collected pursuant to N.J.S.2C:64-6, in an amount to be determined by the Attorney General.
c. The Attorney General is authorized to promulgate guidelines or directives, as appropriate, to implement and enforce the provisions of this section.
3. a. For the purposes of this section:
"Basic life support ambulance" means an emergency medical services vehicle that is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health and operated in accordance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner.
"In-service" means the presence of a mobility assistance vehicle or basic life support ambulance at a sending or receiving health care facility; the picking up, transporting, or discharging of any patient; or any instance where the mobility assistance vehicle or basic life support ambulance is ready to accept patients and perform mobility assistance or basic life support care.
"Mobility assistance vehicle" means a specialized transport vehicle licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health and operated in accordance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner.
b. In addition to basic equipment and supplies required by the Commissioner of Health, every basic life support ambulance and mobility assistance vehicle shall be equipped with a tourniquet while in-service.
c. The Commissioner of Health is authorized to promulgate guidelines or directives, as appropriate, to implement and enforce the provisions of this section.
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires tourniquets to be issued to all State, county, and municipal law enforcement officers and requires all emergency service vehicles to be equipped with a tourniquet.
Tourniquets are not currently issued to all law enforcement officers in this State. In addition, tourniquets are not currently included as part of the basic equipment and supplies required for emergency vehicles pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Health.
In the United States, the use of tourniquets fell out of favor following the civil war when they were questioned due to complications associated with their indiscriminate use. Until recently, tourniquets were thought to be a last resort, to be used only when more conventional methods (direct pressure, elevation, pressure point, and pressure dressing) were unsuccessful.
In recent years there has been a resurgence in the use of tourniquets. The "first use" of the tourniquet has been found to save numerous lives in a number of emergencies including the Boston Marathon bombings and active shooter incidents. Victims of motor vehicle accidents have been saved in New Jersey by officers to whom tourniquets have been issued. It is the sponsor's view that these life-saving tools should be issued to all law enforcement officers, and be part of the basic equipment and supplies required for emergency vehicles in this State.
Under the bill, a tourniquet is required to be issued to every State, county, and municipal law enforcement officer, and every basic life support ambulance and mobility assistance vehicle licensed by the Department of Health is required to be equipped with a tourniquet.
The cost of the tourniquets issued to law enforcement officers under the bill may be funded by forfeiture funds received by the Attorney General as instrumentalities of crime. Finally, the bill authorizes the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Health to promulgate guidelines or directives in order to enforce the provisions of the bill.
