SENATE, No. 199
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator CHRISTOPHER J. CONNORS
District 9 (Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean)
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Weinberg
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits first responders from disseminating photographs of accident victims and patients to public without consent of victim or patient.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee on February 16, 2012, with amendments.
An Act concerning first responders and supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. 1[Any] a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, any1 first responder who takes one or more photographs or electronic images or makes a video recording of an accident victim or other person receiving emergency medical services and distributes, disseminates, or otherwise makes available through any means such photographs, images, or video recording to members of the public without the prior written consent of the accident victim or person receiving emergency medical services, or the victim’s or person’s next-of-kin if the victim or person cannot provide consent, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
1b. The provisions of this act shall not be construed to prohibit a first responder from distributing, disseminating, providing, or otherwise making available a photograph, electronic image, or video recording of an accident victim or other person receiving emergency medical services to an insurer or insurance-support organization as defined in section 2 of P.L.1985, c.179 (C.17:23A-2) for the sole purpose of processing an insurance claim.
c.1 As used in this act, “first responder” means a law enforcement officer, paid or volunteer firefighter, or other paid or volunteer person who has been trained to provide emergency medical first response services in a program recognized by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.