Sponsored by:
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires president of public institution of higher education to regularly report on-campus criminal and fire events to the institution's governing board.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning safety at public institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The president of each public institution of higher education, or his designee, shall report to the governing board of the institution, at each of its regular meetings, all crimes, fires, and other emergencies which occurred on campus during the previous reporting period. The report shall include: a count and classification of all criminal incidents which occurred on campus and which were recorded by campus security and campus or local police departments; a list of campus alerts, threats, or emergencies which occurred on campus; and a count and classification of all fire incidents which occurred on campus and which were recorded by campus security and local fire departments. The report may also include: the status of all investigations of such acts or events, the type and nature of any discipline imposed on any student or employee identified as causing or contributing to an act or event; and any other measures imposed, training conducted, or programs implemented, to reduce the incidence of such acts and events.
For all matters in the report not subject to public inspection, examination, or copying under the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.); any other statute; regulation promulgated under the authority of any statute or Executive Order of the Governor; Executive Order of the Governor; or any federal law, federal regulation, or federal order, such matters shall be reported by the president to the board in an executive session and such reporting shall not render the information a government record available for inspection under the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.); any other statute; regulation promulgated under the authority of any statute or Executive Order of the Governor; Executive Order of the Governor; or any federal law, federal regulation, or federal order.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the president of each public institution of higher education, or his designee, to report to the governing board of the institution, at each of its regular meetings, all crimes, fires, and other emergencies which occurred on campus during the previous reporting period. The report must include: a count and classification of all criminal incidents which occurred on campus and which were recorded by campus security and campus or local police departments; a list of campus alerts, threats, or emergencies which occurred on campus; and a count and classification of all fire incidents which occurred on campus and which were recorded by campus security and local fire departments. The report may also include: the status of all investigations of such acts or events, the type and nature of any discipline imposed on any student or employee identified as causing or contributing to such acts or events; and any other measures imposed, training conducted, or programs implemented, to reduce the incidence of such acts and events.
The bill directs the president to report all matters that are not a matter of public record to the governing board in an executive session, and to clarify that such reporting does not render the information a government record available for public inspection under the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), commonly known as the open public records act, or under any other statute, regulation, executive order, or federal law, regulation, or order.