Bill Text: NJ S613 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Restricts the participation of school and county college employees in the search for and handling of explosive devices.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-03-11 - Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee [S613 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S613-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator SEAN T. KEAN
District 11 (Monmouth)
Senator BILL BARONI
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Restricts the participation of school and county college employees in the search for and handling of explosive devices.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning explosive devices and supplementing chapters 17 and 64A of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. An employee of a local or regional school district, educational services commission, jointure commission, county special services school district, county vocational school, or board or commission under the authority of the Commissioner of Education or the State Board of Education shall not be required to conduct a hands-on search for an explosive device, or handle or detonate an explosive device by any means or method, and the employee shall not be required to supervise, or be present during, the handling or detonation of an explosive device. The employee may be required to participate in a visual search for an explosive device if the search is supervised by a first responder who has determined that the search would pose a minimal risk to the employee's safety. As used in this section, "explosive device" means any destructive device or explosive as defined under N.J.S.2C:39-1, any explosive or propellant as defined under section 2 of P.L.1960, c.55 (C.21:1A-129) or any dangerous fireworks as defined under R.S.21:2-3.
2. An employee of a county college shall not be required to conduct a hands-on search for an explosive device, or handle or detonate an explosive device by any means or method, and the employee shall not be required to supervise, or be present during, the handling or detonation of an explosive device. The employee may be required to participate in a visual search for an explosive device if the search is supervised by a first responder who has determined that the search would pose a minimal risk to the employee's safety. As used in this section, "explosive device" means any destructive device or explosive as defined under N.J.S.2C:39-1, any explosive or propellant as defined under section 2 of P.L.1960, c.55 (C.21:1A-129) or any dangerous fireworks as defined under R.S.21:2-3.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that employees of public schools and county colleges may not be required to conduct a hands-on search for an explosive device, or handle or detonate an explosive device by any means or method and may not be required to supervise, or be present during, the handling or detonation of an explosive device. The bill provides, however, that an employee may be required to participate in a visual search for an explosive device if the search is supervised by a first responder who has determined that the search would pose a minimal risk to the employee's safety. The bill affirms the 1984 decision of the Commissioner of Education in Cherry Hill Supportive Staff Association and Cherry Hill Associated Service Personnel v. Board of Education of Township of Cherry Hill, Camden County in which the commissioner held that the assignment of untrained custodians to conduct hands-on bomb searches was improper in that case, but that custodians could be required to participate in visual searches for bombs.
