ASSEMBLY, No. 2042
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Permits person with certain brain injuries to voluntarily make notation on
driver’s license, identification card, and in MVC registry; establishes program
to train law enforcement officers in interactions with persons with certain brain
injuries.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Appropriations Committee with technical
review.
A2042 BENSON, MUKHERJI
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AN ACT concerning motor vehicle drivers with a certain brain 1
injuries and supplementing Title 39 and Title 53 of the Revised 2
Statutes. 3
4
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 5
of New Jersey: 6
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1. a. The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor 8
Vehicle Commission shall permit a basic driver’s license or non-9
driver identification card holder to voluntarily indicate on the 10
holder’s basic driver’s license or non-driver identification card that 11
the person has been diagnosed with a traumatic or acquired brain 12
injury by a physician, psychologist, or any other health care 13
professional licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes. 14
The designation shall be used by a law enforcement officer or an 15
emergency medical professional to identify and effectively 16
communicate with a person who has been diagnosed with a 17
traumatic or acquired brain injury and shall not be used for any 18
other purpose by any other person. 19
b. The designation indicating that a person has been diagnosed 20
with a traumatic or acquired brain injury pursuant to subsection a. 21
of this section shall be given a restriction code that shall be 22
displayed on the person’s driver’s license or non-driver 23
identification in accordance with procedures prescribed by the chief 24
administrator. 25
A holder of a basic driver's license or non-driver identification 26
card who makes a voluntary designation pursuant to this section 27
shall have the opportunity to remove the designation at any time. 28
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2. a. The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor 30
Vehicle Commission shall establish and maintain an automated 31
Statewide registry accessible by law enforcement officers for the 32
purposes of identifying and effectively communicating with a 33
person who has been diagnosed with a traumatic or acquired brain 34
injury by a physician, psychologist, or any other health care 35
professional licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes. 36
The chief administrator shall permit a person diagnosed with a 37
traumatic or acquired brain injury to voluntarily report the diagnosis 38
to the commission for inclusion in the registry. The registry shall 39
be capable of storing information, which shall include, but not 40
limited to: (1) the license plate and registration information of any 41
motor vehicle that the person intends to regularly operate; (2) the 42
emergency contact information of a person who can communicate 43
on behalf of the person with the traumatic or acquired brain injury; 44
and (3) any other information that may assist a law enforcement 45
officer when communicating with the person. 46
b. The holder of a basic driver's license or non-driver 47
identification card may voluntarily submit information to the 48
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registry established pursuant to subsection a. of this section, 1
through the commission’s website, by mail, or when completing an 2
application for a driver’s license, motor vehicle registration, or non-3
driver identification card issued by the commission. 4
A holder of a basic driver's license or non-driver identification 5
card who submits information to the registry established pursuant to 6
this section shall have the opportunity to revise the information, 7
update the information, or be removed from the registry at any time. 8
c. Information submitted pursuant to this section shall only be 9
available to: (1) employees of the commission who are designated 10
by the chief administrator to collect and maintain the information; 11
and (2) law enforcement officers when accessing the person’s motor 12
vehicle records. The information shall be exclusively used during a 13
motor vehicle stop or other law enforcement action to assist law 14
enforcement officers in identifying and effectively communicating 15
with a person who has been diagnosed with a traumatic or acquired 16
brain injury. 17
Any information submitted to the commission pursuant to this 18
section shall not be considered a government record pursuant to 19
P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et 20
al.), or the common law concerning access to public records and 21
shall not be discoverable as a government record by any person, 22
entity, or governmental agency, except upon a subpoena issued by a 23
grand jury or a court order in a criminal matter. 24
d. The chief administrator and employees of the commission 25
who are designated by the chief administrator, for the purposes of 26
discharging their duties pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending 27
before the Legislature as this bill), shall not be liable to any person 28
for civil damages, or subject to criminal prosecution resulting from 29
or caused by: (1) any disruption or failure in Internet service caused 30
by any accident, malfunction, act of sabotage or God, or any other 31
condition or circumstance that the commission has not, directly or 32
indirectly, caused, and which prevents the holder of a basic driver's 33
license or non-driver identification card from accessing, or 34
inputting information into, the registry established pursuant to this 35
section or which results in, or prevents, the chief administrator and 36
designated commission employees and law enforcement officers 37
from accessing, establishing, or maintaining the database; (2) any 38
misuse of, or the failure or omission to input accurate information, 39
or the inputting of inaccurate or outdated information into the 40
registry by any holder of a basic driver's license or non-driver 41
identification card; or (3) the inability of any law enforcement 42
officer to make contact, in good faith, with any designated 43
emergency contact person. This limitation of liability is 44
inapplicable if the failure resulted from a malicious purpose or a 45
wanton and willful disregard for the safety of persons or property. 46
e. The chief administrator may adopt, pursuant to the 47
"Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-48
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1 et seq.), any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation 1
of P.L. c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as 2
this bill). 3
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3. a. The Superintendent of the Division of State Police within 5
the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the 6
Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission 7
and the Commissioner of Human Services, shall develop a program 8
to assist and train law enforcement officers to identify and 9
effectively communicate with a person who has been diagnosed 10
with a traumatic or acquired brain injury by a physician, 11
psychologist, or any other health care professional licensed 12
pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes. 13
The program shall include, but not be limited to, training in de-14
escalation methods when interacting with a person who has been 15
diagnosed with a traumatic or acquired brain injury, proper 16
utilization of the registry established pursuant section 2 of P.L. , 17
c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and any 18
other information, as recommended by the Commissioner of Human 19
Services, that may be useful to law enforcement officers when 20
interacting with a person who has been diagnosed with a traumatic 21
or acquired brain injury. 22
b. The program established pursuant to subsection a. of this 23
section shall be available annually to every county and municipal 24
law enforcement agency in this State. 25
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4. a. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect on the first 27
day of the seventh month following enactment, but the Chief 28
Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission may 29
take any administrative action in advance of that date as shall be 30
necessary for the timely implementation of this act. 31
b. Section 3 of this act shall take effect on the first day of the 32
thirteenth month following enactment, but the Superintendent of the 33
Division of State Police may take any administrative action in 34
advance of that date as shall be necessary for the timely 35
implementation of this act. 36