[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 386

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION

 

 

Sponsored by:

Senator  LORETTA WEINBERG

District 37 (Bergen)

Senator  TROY SINGLETON

District 7 (Burlington)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Brown, Corrado, Bateman, Ruiz and Pou

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes mandatory domestic violence training for municipal prosecutors.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 21, 2021, with amendments.

  

An Act concerning domestic violence training and amending P.L.1999, c.349.

 

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

 

     1.    Section 10 of P.L.1999, c.349 (C.2B:25-10) is amended to read as follows:

     10.  a.  (1)  The Attorney General in consultation with the county and municipal prosecutors [may] shall develop curricula for training programs for all municipal prosecutors which shall include, but not be limited to, domestic violence training ¹and include topics regarding the dynamics of domestic violence, the impact of domestic violence on children, the impact of trauma on survivors, risks for lethality in domestic violence cases, offenders accountability, safety planning and services for survivors of domestic violence, the impact of racial bias and discrimination on survivors and marginalized communities¹.

     (2)   Participation in such training programs shall be voluntary, except that participation in the domestic violence training program shall be mandatory.  An attorney successfully completing a training program shall receive such certification or recognition as deemed appropriate by the Attorney General.

     b.    The domestic violence training course and curriculum shall be reviewed at least every two years and modified by the Division of Criminal Justice from time to time as need may require.

     The Attorney General shall be responsible for ensuring that all ¹new¹ municipal prosecutors ¹appointed after the effective date of P.L.    , c.   who have not previously served as a municipal prosecutor for a municipality¹ attend an initial domestic violence training within 90 days of appointment or transfer and annual ¹[inservice] in-service¹ training of at least four hours as described in paragraph (3) of subsection b. of section 4 of P.L. 1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-20).  ¹The training shall not be required for any municipal prosecutor who was appointed to that office prior to the effective date of P.L.    , c.   who is subsequently re-appointed to that office or appointed as a municipal prosecutor for another municipality after that effective date.¹

(cf: P.L.1999, c.349, s.10)

 

     2.    This act shall take effect immediately.