Bill Text: NJ A5653 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires attorney identification cards; requires establishment of county-based trust fund for deposit of fees and expenditures for equipment, supplies and services related to cards.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee [A5653 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A5653-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANGELICA M. JIMENEZ
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires attorney identification cards; requires establishment of county-based trust fund for deposit of fees and expenditures for equipment, supplies and services related to cards.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning attorney identification and amending P.L.2009, c.11 and supplementing Title 2B of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. The Administrative Director of the Courts in consultation with the Attorney General shall develop and implement a policy requiring all attorneys to have an attorney identification card which is in the attorney's possession while the attorney is in a New Jersey court house or court facility.
b. The Administrative Director of the Courts in consultation with the Attorney General shall develop guidelines concerning the application process, which shall include a criminal history record background check, and information to be included on the identification card required pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The information shall include, but need not be limited to, the attorney's name, designation as an attorney licensed in New Jersey, and an up-to-date photograph.
c. The policy shall ensure that the attorney identification card of any attorney who is barred from the practice of law in New Jersey is returned.
2. Section 1 of P.L.2009, c.11 (C.40A:4-22.2) is amended as follows:
1. A county [may] shall establish a trust fund account entitled, "Attorney Identification Card Program" trust fund into which shall be deposited all fees paid by attorneys for the purchase of identification cards and from which expenditures shall be disbursed exclusively for the procurement of equipment, ongoing maintenance and supplies, and associated services necessary to issue the cards and to operate and maintain the system.
(cf: P.L.2009, c.11, s.1)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Administrative Director of the Courts in consultation with the Attorney General to develop and implement a policy requiring all attorneys to have an attorney identification card. The ID card must be clearly visible at all times while the attorney is in a New Jersey court house or court facility.
Under the bill, the Administrative Director of the Courts in consultation with the Attorney General will develop guidelines concerning the application process, which shall include a criminal history record background check, and the information to be included on the attorney identification card. At a minimum, the information will include the name of the attorney's name, designation as an attorney licensed in New Jersey, and an up-to-date photograph.
In 2005, then Attorney General Peter Harvey announced the creation of a uniform identification card for all attorneys in the State of New Jersey. The identification card, which was not mandatory, provided attorneys and sheriffs' officers a more efficient entry process to courthouses throughout the State. Currently section1 of P.L.2009, c.11 (40A:4-22.2) provides that a county may establish a trust fund account entitled, "Attorney Identification Card Program" as the depository for fees currently paid by attorneys for the voluntary purchase of identification cards. This bill directs that counties shall establish a trust fund for this purpose for fees required pursuant to this bill. Pursuant to section1 of P.L.2009, c.11 (40A:4-22.2), expenditures from this fund are disbursed exclusively for the procurement of equipment, ongoing maintenance and supplies, and associated services necessary to issue the cards and to operate and maintain the system.
