SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 1385
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JUNE 26, 2024
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably
and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1385 (1R).
This bill establishes a four-year pilot program in Ocean County, or
a different county as determined by the Attorney General pursuant to
the provisions of the bill, for electronic monitoring of certain domestic
violence offenders and notification to victims.
APPLICABILITY
Electronic monitoring under the pilot program would be ordered
only with the victim’s informed consent and would apply to defendants
convicted of contempt of a domestic violence order entered pursuant to
the provisions of the “Prevention of Domestic Violence Act,” P.L.1981,
c.426 (C.2C:25-1 et al.) or the “Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of
1991,” P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-17 et al.).
As amended, the bill provides that when a defendant is convicted of
contempt of a domestic violence order the court may, in addition to any
other disposition:
(1) sentence the defendant to electronic monitoring with victim
notification for a period of time not to exceed the expiration of the pilot
program; and
(2) sentence the defendant to probation and, as a condition of such
probation, order electronic monitoring with victim notification.
DETERMINATIONS OF THE COURT
The bill provides that the court may, in making the determination
whether to place the defendant on electronic monitoring, hold a hearing
to consider the likelihood that the defendant's participation in electronic
monitoring would deter the defendant from injuring the victim. The
court would consider the following factors: the gravity and seriousness
of harm that the defendant inflicted on the victim that resulted in the
entry of a temporary or final restraining order or a contempt order; the
defendant’s previous history of domestic violence and other criminal
acts, if any; whether the defendant has access to a weapon; and whether
the defendant has threatened suicide or homicide or has a history of 2
mental illness or substance abuse. The court would additionally
consider the best interest of any children of the parties and any other
factors the court finds relevant to making its determination.
ELECTRONIC MONITORING DEVICE STANDARDS
This bill requires that any electronic monitoring device and tracking
system worn or utilized by a defendant be in compliance with “Offender
Tracking Systems NIJ Standard 1004.00,” issued by the National
Institute of Justice (NIJ) in July 2016, and any successor standards
adopted by the NIJ. The NIJ Standard encompasses protocols for
performance, safety, software requirements, and testing of electronic
monitoring devices. The NIJ is the research, development, and
evaluation agency of the United States Department of Justice.
The bill further provides that no supplier of a product, system, or
service used in the pilot program for electronic monitoring with victim
notification would be liable, directly or indirectly, for damages arising
from any injury or death associated with the use of the product, system
or service unless, and only to the extent that, such action is based on a
claim that the injury or death was proximately caused by a
manufacturing defect in the product or system.
The bill also amends the “Local Public Contracts Law,” P.L.1971,
c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.), to provide that services and equipment
necessary for the implementation of the pilot program could be
negotiated and awarded by a governing body without public advertising
for bids and bidding, and be awarded by resolution of the governing
body.
FINES, FEES, AND OTHER LEGAL OBLIGATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS
Under the bill, a defendant ordered by the court to be placed on
electronic monitoring may be ordered to pay the costs and expenses
related to electronic monitoring and victim notification or a portion of
the costs and expenses, based on the defendant’s ability to pay. In
addition, the defendant would be assessed a monitoring fee of $250. The
court could waive the fee in cases of extreme financial hardship. The fee
would be forwarded to the “Domestic Violence Victim Notification
Fund” established under the bill. This fund, a dedicated, non-lapsing
fund within the General Fund, would be administered by the Attorney
General. The fund is to be the depository of the costs and expenses
imposed on the defendant and any other monies that may be available
to the fund through appropriation by the Legislature or any public or
private source. All moneys deposited in the fund would be used to
defray the costs of the pilot program.
The bill also provides for the following civil penalties which would
expire at the end of the fifth year following implementation of the pilot
program: (1) any person found by the court in a final domestic violence
hearing to have committed an act of domestic violence would be
required to pay a civil penalty of $200, but similar to the monitoring fee 3
this penalty may be waived in cases of extreme financial hardship; and
(2) in addition to any other disposition, the court would impose a civil
penalty of $250 on any person convicted of a crime or offense involving
domestic violence, or convicted of contempt of a domestic violence
order, unless the person was previously assessed the $250 monitoring
fee.
Additionally, the bill would make it a crime of the third degree to
tamper with, remove, or vandalize an electronic monitoring device. A
crime of the third degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of
three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.
REQUIREMENTS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, PROSECUTOR, AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT
As amended, the bill requires that prior to consenting to a
defendant’s participation in the electronic monitoring program, the
prosecutor’s office would be obligated to give the victim the following
information in order for the victim to ultimately provide the necessary
“informed consent”: (1) information concerning the victim's right to
refuse to participate in electronic monitoring and the process for
requesting the court to terminate the victim's participation after it has
been ordered, including the requirement for a resentencing hearing for
the defendant when the victim terminates participation, as set forth in
the bill; (2) the manner in which the electronic monitoring technology
functions and the risks and limitations of that technology, the
operational procedures of the device and the applicable instructions
regarding the device, and the extent to which the system will track and
record the victim's location and movements; (3) the boundaries imposed
on the defendant during the electronic monitoring; (4) the sanctions that
the court may impose on the defendant for violating a court order; (5)
the procedure that the victim is to follow if the defendant violates an
order or if the electronic monitoring equipment fails; (6) identification
of support services available to assist the victim in developing a safety
plan; (7) identification of community services available to assist the
victim in obtaining shelter, counseling, child care, legal representation
and other assistance; and (8) the non-confidential nature of the victim’s
communications with the court concerning electronic monitoring and
the restrictions to be imposed upon the defendant’s movements.
In addition, the bill requires the Attorney General, in consultation
with the State Parole Board, to develop procedures to determine,
investigate, and respond to a defendant’s noncompliance with the terms
and conditions of the electronic monitoring program on a 24-hour-per-
day basis. All reports of noncompliance would be investigated by a law
enforcement officer as expeditiously as possible.
The bill provides that not later than one year following the
implementation of the pilot program and annually thereafter for four
years, the Attorney General is to submit a report to the Governor and
Legislature containing an evaluation of the pilot program and include in 4
its report a recommendation as to whether the program should be
continued as a Statewide program. The annual report would also
include a cost impact analysis of the costs and expenses used to help pay
for electronic monitoring and victim notification, the monitoring fee,
and civil penalties imposed by the court on defendants to defray the
costs of the program.
Additionally, the bill requires the Attorney General, in conjunction
with the Division of Probation Services and the State Parole Board, and
in consultation with the Ocean County Prosecutor and Sheriff and local
victim service providers and abuse intervention programs, to
promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the bill. The bill would
permit the Attorney General, while promulgating these rules and
regulations, to change the county in which the pilot program is located
if the Attorney General determines that a different county may be a more
effective venue for the pilot program.
APPROPRIATION
The bill appropriates $2.5 million from the General Fund to the
“Domestic Violence Victim Notification Fund,” and provides that
following the expiration of the four-year pilot program, any unexpended
funds are to be returned to the General Fund.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS :
The committee amendments to the bill:
--Provide that electronic monitoring would be in addition to any
other disposition. Currently, the bill provides that electronic
monitoring would be in addition to or in lieu of any other
disposition.
--Provide that if the victim requests that the court terminate the
victim’s participation, the court would hold a resentencing hearing
for the defendant, and electronic monitoring with victim notification
would continue until the court issues a resentencing decision. The
amendments also provide that, prior to the victim’s participation in
the electronic monitoring program, the victim would be notified
about the requirement for a resentencing hearing in the event that,
after the program has been ordered, the victim requests to terminate
participation in the program.
--Amend the bill’s title and synopsis to delete the bill’s
designation as “Lisa’s Law.”
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that this bill would
result in indeterminate annual cost and revenue increases to the State
and local units in Ocean County, or potentially a different county, for
the duration of the four-year pilot program. The OLS cannot quantify
the bill’s costs and revenues because they depend on, among other
factors, program participation levels, which would be subject to judicial 5
discretion and victim consent. The bill appropriates $2.5 million to the
newly established Domestic Violence Victim Notification Fund which,
along with other resources like fee and penalty revenues, is to be used
to defray the costs of electronic monitoring and victim notification.
In addition to the costs the State will incur under the pilot program,
there will be additional expenditures for the Department of Law and
Public Safety, the Judiciary, and the Office of the Public Defender
because the bill establishes a new crime of the third degree for any
person who tampers with, removes, or vandalizes the monitoring device
the person is wearing pursuant to the bill. There is a presumption of
non-incarceration for first-time offenders of a crime of the third degree
so no additional costs are expected to accrue to the Department of
Corrections or the State Parole Board. The Department of Law and
Public Safety will also incur annual costs to prepare the evaluation
reports required under the bill.