New Jersey-2010-S1724-Introduced

An Act concerning death benefit for certain emergency volunteers, supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes, and amending R.S.39:5-41.

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

1. (New section) a. For the purposes of this section "qualified person" means:

(1) every member of a duly incorporated volunteer fire company, who is not otherwise a member of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System, and

(2) every active member of a duly incorporated volunteer first aid or volunteer rescue squad.

b. In addition to any benefit provided under R.S.43:17-1 or any other benefit provided under the law, a one time payment of $50,000 shall be paid to the widow or widower of any qualified person who dies as a result of an accident met in the actual performance of their fire suppression, first aid or rescue squad duties at some definite time and place, and such death was not the result of the person's willful negligence. If there is no surviving widow or widower, the full amount of such compensation shall be payable to one surviving child, or shall be divided among and paid in equal shares to the surviving children if there be more than one surviving child. If there is no surviving widow, widower or child, the payment of $50,000 shall be payable to two surviving parents in equal shares, or if there is only one surviving parent the entire amount shall be payable to that parent. If there is no surviving widow, widower, child or parent, the payment shall be made to any other designated beneficiary of the qualified person. For the purposes of this section, a child may be over or under the age of majority at the time of receipt of the one time payment.

c. The benefit required under subsection b. of this section shall be payable if a report of the death is filed with the Department of the Treasury within 60 days following the accident, but the State Treasurer may waive such time limit, for a reasonable period, if in the judgment of the State Treasurer the circumstances warrant such action.

d. The Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, shall annually adjust the $50,000 amount provided under subsection b. of this section in accordance with changes in the Consumer Price Index. The adjustment shall become effective on July 1 of the year in which the adjustment is made.

2. (New section) a. There is established in the Department of the Treasury a nonlapsing, revolving fund to be known as the "Fallen Volunteer Firefighter and First Aid Volunteer Fund." This fund shall be the repository for monies provided pursuant to R.S.39:5-41.

b. The State Treasurer is the custodian of the fund and all disbursements from the fund shall be made by the State Treasurer upon proper application by the eligible beneficiaries under subsection b. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The monies in the fund shall be invested and reinvested by the Director of the Division of Investment in the Department of the Treasury as are other trust funds in the custody of the State Treasurer, in the manner provided by law. Interest received on the monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund.

3. R.S.39:5-41 is amended to read as follows:

39:5-41. a. All fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law for any violations of R.S.39:4-63 and R.S.39:4-64 shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same have been paid to the proper financial officer of a county, if the violation occurred within the jurisdiction of that county's central municipal court, established pursuant to N.J.S.2B:12-1 et seq. or the municipality wherein the violation occurred, to be used by the county or municipality to help finance litter control activities in addition to or supplementing existing litter pickup and removal activities in the municipality.

b. Except as otherwise provided by subsection a. of this section, all fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law for any violations of the provisions of this Title, other than those violations in which the complaining witness is the chief administrator, a member of his staff, a member of the State Police, a member of a county police department and force or a county park police system in a county that has established a central municipal court, an inspector of the Board of Public Utilities, or a law enforcement officer of any other State agency, shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same have been paid as follows: one-half of the total amount collected to the financial officer, as designated by the local governing body, of the respective municipalities wherein the violations occurred, to be used by the municipality for general municipal use and to defray the cost of operating the municipal court; and one-half of the total amount collected to the proper financial officer of the county wherein they were collected, to be used by the county as a fund for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of roads and bridges, snow removal, the acquisition and purchase of rights-of-way, and the purchase, replacement and repair of equipment for use on said roads and bridges therein. Up to 25% of the money received by a municipality pursuant to this subsection, but not more than the actual amount budgeted for the municipal court, whichever is less, may be used to upgrade case processing.

All fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law for any violations of the provisions of this Title, in which the complaining witness is a member of a county police department and force or a county park police system in a county that has established a central municipal court, shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same have been paid to the financial officer, designated by the governing body of the county, for all violations occurring within the jurisdiction of that court, to be used for general county use and to defray the cost of operating the central municipal court.

Whenever any county has deposited moneys collected pursuant to this section in a special trust fund in lieu of expending the same for the purposes authorized by this section, it may withdraw from said special trust fund in any year an amount which is not in excess of the amount expended by the county over the immediately preceding three-year period from general county revenues for said purposes. Such moneys withdrawn from the trust fund shall be accounted for and used as are other general county revenues.

c. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1993, c.293.)

d. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected through a court under authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State Treasurer. In addition, upon the forfeiture of bail, $1 of that forfeiture shall be forwarded to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded in the "Body Armor Replacement" fund established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1997, c.177 (C.52:17B-4.4). Beginning in the fiscal year next following the effective date of this act, the State Treasurer annually shall allocate from those moneys so forwarded an amount not to exceed $400,000 to the Department of the Treasury to be expended exclusively for the purposes of funding the operation of the "Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention Services" telephone hotline established and maintained under the provisions of sections 115 and 116 of P.L.2008, c.29 (C.26:2NN-1 and C.26:2NN-2).

e. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected through a court under authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded in the "New Jersey Spinal Cord Research Fund" established pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1999, c.201 (C.52:9E-9). In order to comply with the provisions of Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 of the State Constitution, a municipal or county agency which forwards moneys to the State Treasurer pursuant to this subsection may retain an amount equal to 2% of the moneys which it collects pursuant to this subsection as compensation for its administrative costs associated with implementing the provisions of this subsection.

f. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected through a court under authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded in the "Autism Medical Research and Treatment Fund" established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2003, c.144 (C.30:6D-62.2).

g. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $2 shall be added to the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected by a court under authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded in the "New Jersey Forensic DNA Laboratory Fund" established pursuant to P.L.2003, c.183. Prior to depositing the moneys into the fund, the State Treasurer shall forward to the Administrative Office of the Courts an amount not to exceed $475,000 from moneys initially collected pursuant to this subsection to be used exclusively to establish a collection mechanism and to provide funding to update the Automated Traffic System Fund created pursuant to N.J.S.2B:12-30 to implement the provisions of this subsection.

h. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected under authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded in the "New Jersey Brain Injury Research Fund" established pursuant to section 9 of P.L.2003, c.200 (C.52:9EE-9). The Administrative Office of the Courts may retain an amount equal to $475,000 from the moneys which it initially collects pursuant to this subsection, prior to depositing any moneys in the "New Jersey Brain Injury Research Fund," in order to meet the expenses associated with utilizing the Automated Traffic System Fund created pursuant to N.J.S.2B:12-30 to implement the provisions of this subsection and serve other statutory purposes.

i. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, all fines and penalties imposed and collected under authority of law for any violation related to the unlawful operation or the sale of a vehicle under section 1 of P.L.1955, c.53 (C.39:3-17.1) shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same have been paid to the State Treasurer, if the complaining witness is the chief administrator, a member of his staff, a member of the State Police, an inspector of the Board of Public Utilities, or a law enforcement officer or other official of any other State agency; or, if the complaining witness is not one of the foregoing, one-half to the chief financial officer of the county and one-half to the chief financial officer of the municipality wherein the violation occurred.

j. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $0.25 shall be added to the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected under authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded in the "Fallen Volunteer Firefighter and First Aid Volunteer Fund" established pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) until that fund reaches an amount equal to $500,000. The remainder of the monies collected shall be allocated to the General Fund of the State.

(cf: P.L.2008, c.116. s.1)

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a fund within the Department of the Treasury to be known as the "Fallen Volunteer Firefighter and First Aid Volunteer Fund." The bill provides that volunteer fire fighters and volunteer first aid or rescue squad workers are eligible for a lump sum payment of $50,000 from the fund when that volunteer dies in the line of duty.

When a volunteer firefighter dies in the line of duty, their family generally receives financial assistance from the federal government. In many cases, however, there may be a one to two year waiting period before a family can receive this assistance. It is the sponsor's intent that the money provided under this bill be used to temporarily assist the family of a volunteer firefighter or first aid worker until that volunteer's family receives funding from the federal government.

The moneys for the "Fallen Volunteer Firefighter and First Aid Volunteer Fund" would be generated by a $0.25 surcharge on all motor vehicle fines.