TRENTON – A number of bills were introduced in the last few days, covering a variety of topics:
A4412, sponsored by District 1 Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam, would prevent law enforcement agencies from setting up vehicle checkpoints that target one specific type of vehicle.
The bill states that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has funded some motorcycle-only checkpoints, and that some states such as North Carolina and New Hampshire already have enacted similar laws in opposition to such vehicle “profiling.’’
A4403, sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin Ryan, (D-36), Nutley, would replace the outdated term “mentally defective’’ with “mentally incapable’’ in the Criminal Code.
The bill wants to get rid of language that may have an unintended pejorative meaning but it does not intend to make any substantive change to legal meanings.
A3151-A3152, both sponsored by Sen. Gerald Cardinale, (R-39), Demarest, address the controversy sparked by the steep toll hike at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The first would require the Authority to transmit proposed toll increases or new tolls to the Legislatures of New York and New Jersey for review and approval. Either Legislature could reject a proposed hike within 90 days. It also would mandate that such hikes shall only be used for capital improvement debt service.
The second bill would require the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the South Jersey Transportation Authority to transmit proposed highway toll increases or new tolls to the Senate and General Assembly prior to their taking effect.
A4319 is the companion bill.
S3143, sponsored by Sen. James Beach, (D-6), Voorhees, and Sen. Christopher Bateman, (R-16), Branchburg, would make it a fourth-degree crime if a person has reasonable suspicion of child sexual abuse and does not immediately report it to law enforcement officials.
The bill – its Assembly version is A4396 – would upgrade the non-reporting from a disorderly person’s offense.
The penalty for a disorderly person’s offense is imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. The penalty for a fourth-degree crime is up to 18 months imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
