Bill Text: NJ ACR34 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Urges carbon monoxide detector installation in all buildings.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-06-02 - Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [ACR34 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2014-ACR34-Amended.html

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[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 34

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

216th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER

District 28 (Essex)

Assemblyman  SCOTT T. RUMANA

District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Quijano

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Urges carbon monoxide detector installation in all buildings.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As reported by the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee on February 24, 2014, with amendments.

  

A Concurrent Resolution urging the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in all buildings.

 

Whereas, Carbon monoxide, produced by incomplete combustion in fuel-burning devices such as motor vehicles, gas-powered furnaces and portable generators, is an odorless, colorless gas that can kill, virtually without warning; and

Whereas, Unintentional carbon monoxide exposure accounts for an estimated 15,000 hospital emergency department visits and 500 unintentional deaths each year in the United States; and

Whereas, On October 31, 2012, two sisters, 19 and 18, tragically died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a Newark, New Jersey apartment due to a gas-powered generator, used to light an apartment that had lost power during Hurricane Sandy, operating outside beneath the apartment's open window; and

Whereas, On December 3, 2012, 42 children became seriously ill from carbon monoxide exposure at Finch Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia, where no carbon monoxide detectors were installed; and

Whereas, New Jersey law currently requires certain buildings to install and maintain working carbon monoxide detectors; and

Whereas, Although some property owners and managers have addressed the risks of carbon monoxide exposure in a proactive manner by voluntarily installing carbon monoxide detectors, there remains a risk of unintentional exposure in any building without working carbon monoxide detectors properly installed and maintained; and

Whereas, The federal Department of Health and Human Services recommends that every home have a working battery-operated carbon monoxide detector near every sleeping area, and recommends that all oil and gas furnaces be inspected annually to ensure each is in safe working condition; and

Whereas, The highest rates of illness or death from unintentional carbon monoxide exposure occur during the winter months, especially in January, due to the increased use of residential and commercial heating appliances; and

Whereas, ¹[As New Jersey residents and property owners prepare for the upcoming winter months, promoting] Promoting¹ awareness of the risks posed by carbon monoxide exposure and the value of installing carbon monoxide detectors is a matter of serious importance to the Legislature; now, therefore,

 

     Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

     1.    The Legislature of the State of New Jersey urges all private property owners and managers of public facilities to install carbon monoxide detectors inside all buildings to ensure the safety of those inside.

 

     2.    Duly authenticated copies of this concurrent resolution signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested to by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the General Assembly shall be sent to the New Jersey League of Municipalities and the Commissioner of Community Affairs.