STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ELIZABETH MAHER MUOIO
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman REED GUSCIORA
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Johnson and Assemblywoman Jimenez
SYNOPSIS
Requires government entities to provide law enforcement agencies with access to exterior security recordings under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning law enforcement accessing exterior security recordings of government entities and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. When a law enforcement agency has a filed report regarding an alleged crime and has made a request to a State agency or a political subdivision of the State for access to an exterior security camera of the government entity, which surveils the public exterior of the government entity's premises, that the law enforcement agency reasonably believes contains recording of the crime or of circumstances surrounding the crime, the State agency or a political subdivision shall provide access, by the close of the business day next following the request, or sooner as required by the Attorney General pursuant to subsection d. of this act, to the recording from the camera from one hour preceding the alleged time of commission of the crime as listed in the filed police report to one hour following the alleged time of commission of the crime.
"State" means the Executive Branch of State government, including any independent authority, commission, board, agency, or instrumentality of the State or an institution of higher education of the State.
b. A law enforcement agency may bring an action in the Superior Court for an order of enforcement upon a government entity's refusal to provide access to a recording under this act.
c. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to prohibit a law enforcement agency from accessing or seeking to access a security recording of government entities as is otherwise permitted by law, nor shall it be deemed to prohibit entities from providing access that is greater than the requirements of subsection a. of this section.
d. The Attorney General shall set forth mandatory procedures to be followed by State agencies and political subdivisions of the State for the release of security recordings to law enforcement agencies in accordance with subsection a of this section. The procedures shall be disseminated to State agencies, political subdivisions of the State and law enforcement agencies within 120 days of the effective date of this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires all State agencies and political subdivisions to provide law enforcement agencies with access to security recordings of the public exteriors of the government entities' premises.
Under the bill, the State or political subdivisions are required to provide access to an exterior security camera upon the request of a law enforcement agency that has received a report of a crime and reasonably believes that the camera has recorded the alleged crime or circumstances surrounding the crime. Specifically, the State or political subdivision would be required to provide a recording spanning from one hour prior to the alleged time of commission of the crime to one hour following the time of commission of the crime. Access to the camera is to be provided by the close of the business day following the request, or sooner as required by the Attorney General.
The bill also requires the Attorney General to set forth mandatory procedures to be followed by State agencies and political subdivisions of the State for the release of security recordings to law enforcement agencies.