New Jersey-2014-A649-Introduced

An Act licensing bio-recovery specialists and supplementing Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. As used in this act:

"Bio-recovery specialist" means a person or an entity who is licensed by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs to handle regulated medical waste as defined in section 3 of P.L.1989, c.34 (C.13:1E-48.3) of the "Comprehensive Regulated Medical Waste Management Act;"

"Lead law enforcement agency or officer" means an agency or representative of an agency in charge of a crime scene; and

"Regulated medical waste" means regulated medical waste as defined in section 3 of P.L.1989, c.34 (C.13:1E-48.3) of the "Comprehensive Regulated Medical Waste Management Act."

2. a. A person shall not engage in bio-recovery unless that person is licensed by, or employed by a person who is licensed by, the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety in accordance with the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

b. Licenses shall be valid for two years and shall be renewed biennially. The application shall be accompanied by a reasonable fee set by the director in an amount sufficient to defray the division's expenses incurred in administering and enforcing the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

3. a. The division shall keep a record of its proceedings under this act and a register of all applications for licensure hereunder; the register shall include but not be limited to:

(1) the name and residence of each applicant;

(2) the date of the application;

(3) the applicant's place of business; and

(4) whether the applicant was rejected or a license was granted and the date of such action.

b. The board shall annually compile a list of licensed certified bio-recovery specialists authorized to practice in this State. This list shall be available to the public.

4. Prior to leaving a crime scene where there is regulated medical waste as a result of the offense, the lead law enforcement agency shall inform the property owner, or remaining residents, of the following:

a. The availability of State certified bio-recovery specialists' services, established pursuant to this section; and

b. The existence of the New Jersey Victims of Crime Compensation Office which under certain circumstances may provide partial, to full, financial assistance to victims and family members of victims.

5. a. The director may refuse to issue or renew, and may revoke, any registration for failure to comply with, or violation of, the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) or any regulation promulgated pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). A refusal to issue, renew, or revoke shall not be made except upon reasonable notice to, and opportunity to be heard by, the applicant or registrant.

b. The director, in lieu of revoking a registration, may suspend the registration for a reasonable period of time, may assess a penalty in lieu of suspension, or both, and may issue a new registration, notwithstanding the revocation of a prior registration, if the applicant is found to have become entitled to the new registration.

6. The Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety shall adopt rules and regulations, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to carry out the provisions of this act.

7. This act shall take effect on the first day of the thirteenth month following enactment, but the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs may take such anticipatory acts in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a bio-recovery specialist license and requires that lead law enforcement agencies provide bio-recovery service and Victims of Crime Compensation Office information to victims at crime scenes involving regulated medical waste.

The bill requires the Division of Consumer Affairs, in the Department of Law and Public Safety, to license bio-recovery specialists and make a list of these specialists available to the public.

This bill requires that the lead law enforcement agency, prior to leaving a crime scene, provide to the resident or family members information about bio-recovery services and the Victims of Crime Compensation Office.

Currently, there are no protocols to guide law enforcement agencies when assisting the survivors at a crime scene with their immediate bio-hazard clean-up needs. Many insurance policies provide some reimbursement for clean-up costs after an incident varying on the extent of the damage and the circumstances. If there are victims involved, the Victims of Crime Compensation Office may provide minimal reimbursement for bio-hazard clean-up costs, based on qualifying circumstances.

Although these services exist, many traumatized surviving victims and family members of victims do not know where to turn first when faced with the task of cleaning up a crime scene. They may spend weeks trying to locate a service that will agree to provide a legitimate service. In this time of emotional distress, this delay of finding a credible clean-up specialist can make the experience even more traumatic and the clean-up even more expensive.

This bill would provide immediate relief to family members of victims by establishing State licensed bio-hazard specialists and requiring law enforcement to inform victims of bio-recovery clean-up and cost recovery services.