A3406

An Act concerning security officers and amending P.L.2004, c.134.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 4 of P.L.2004, c.134 (C.45:19A-4) is amended to read as follows:

4. a. [No] A person shall not be employed as, or perform the functions and activities of, a security officer unless that person is registered with the superintendent as required in this section. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.

b. An application for registration as a security officer shall be filed with the superintendent on a form and in a manner prescribed by the superintendent and shall set forth under oath:

(1) the applicant's full name, age, which shall be at least 18 years, and residence;

(2) the name and address of all employers or occupations engaged in for the immediately preceding five years;

(3) that the applicant has not been convicted of any disqualifying crime or offense as set forth in subsection c. of this section; and

(4) such further information as the superintendent may require to show the good character, competency and integrity of the applicant.

Any person who shall knowingly make a false statement in, or knowingly omit any material information from, an application as required by this subsection shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree in addition to any other crime or offense specified by law.

An applicant for registration as a security officer shall submit with the application an application fee and a registry surcharge fee in an amount as determined by the superintendent.

c. [No] A person shall not be issued a certificate of registration as a security officer under the provisions of this section if the person has been convicted, as indicated by a criminal history record background check performed pursuant to the provisions of this section, of: a crime of the first, second, third or fourth degree; any offense involving the unlawful use, possession or sale of a controlled dangerous substance as defined in N.J.S.2C:35-2; or any offense where the registration of the individual would be contrary to the public interest, as determined by the superintendent. Each applicant shall submit to the superintendent the applicant's fingerprints and written consent for a criminal history record background check to be performed. The superintendent shall compare these to fingerprints on file with the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, consistent with applicable State and federal laws, rules and regulations. The applicant shall bear the cost for the criminal history record background check, including all costs of administering and processing the check.

d. A person whose application has been approved by the superintendent shall complete the required education and training program established in section 5 of [this act] P.L.2004, c.134 (C.45:19A-1 et seq.). Upon satisfactory completion of this program, [and upon the payment of a fee in an amount established by the superintendent,] the applicant shall be entitled to and the superintendent shall issue and deliver to the applicant a security officer certificate of registration. An applicant who satisfactorily completes the program also shall be reimbursed the application fee and registry surcharge fee required under subsection b. of this section.

e. The superintendent may revoke or suspend such certificate of registration for a violation of any of the provisions of this act or for other good cause. A certificate of registration shall be surrendered to the superintendent within 72 hours after its term has expired or after notice in writing to the holder that the certificate of registration has been revoked.

f. The certificate of registration shall be renewed every two years upon forms prescribed by the superintendent and payment of a fee in an amount established by the superintendent by rule and regulation. The certificate of registration may be renewed without further investigation unless it is deemed by the superintendent that the applicant no longer qualifies or verified objections to the renewal are received by the superintendent prior to issuance.

g. The revocation or suspension of any certificate of registration by the superintendent shall be subject to notice and a hearing.

(cf: P.L.2004, c.134, s.4)

2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires applicants for security guard positions to be reimbursed application and registration fees if they successfully fulfill State-mandated certification requirements.

The Security Officer Registration Act (SORA) requires security officers employed by security officer companies in this State to be registered with the State Police. A security officer is a person who performs any of the following functions or activities as an employee of a security officer company for a fee: (1) protection of person or property; (2) deterrence, observation, detection or reporting of incidents and activities for the purpose of preventing the theft of goods, wares, merchandise, money, bonds, stocks, notes or other valuable instruments, documents, papers or articles; or (3) deterrence, observation, detection or reporting of incidents and activities for the purpose of preventing any unauthorized or unlawful activity, including but not limited to, robbery, burglary, arson, criminal mischief, vandalism or trespass.

Under SORA, an applicant for a certificate of registration as a security officer is required to submit to the State Police an application accompanied by an application fee of $50 and a registry fee of $25. The applicant also is required to pass a criminal history record background check and complete a 24-hour training course, both of which require additional fees. This bill is intended to ease the financial burden of these various fees on applicants who successfully fulfill these certification requirements by reimbursing them for the application and registry fees.