A234

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman HAROLD J. WIRTHS

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Assemblyman EDWARD H. THOMSON

District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)

Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Space

SYNOPSIS

Requires law enforcement agency to issue retired law enforcement officer identification card to certain qualified retirees.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning retired law enforcement officers 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. a. For the purposes of this act, a “qualified retired law enforcement officer” means an individual who:

(1) retired in good standing from service with a public agency as a law enforcement officer, other than for reasons of mental instability;

(2) before such retirement, was authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and had statutory powers of arrest;

(3) before such retirement, was regularly employed as a law enforcement officer for an aggregate of 15 years or more or retired from service with such agency, after completing any applicable probationary period of such service, due to a service-connected disability as determined by such agency;

(4) had a nonforteitable right to benefits under the retirement plan of the agency;

(5) during the most recent 12-month period, has met, at the expense of the individual, the State’s standards for training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry firearms;

(6) is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; and

(7) is not prohibited by federal law from receiving a firearm.

b. The chief law enforcement officer of a law enforcement agency shall issue a retired law enforcement officer identification card that meets the standards established by the Attorney General pursuant to subsection c. of this section to every qualified retired law enforcement officer who submits a written request for such an identification card.

c. The Attorney General shall establish standards concerning the form and content of retired law enforcement officer identification cards to be issued by law enforcement agencies pursuant to this act. These standards shall include:

(1) a requirement that the identification card use a digitized color picture to prevent, to the extent possible, alteration, duplication, counterfeiting, photographing, forging, or other modification; and

(2) a requirement that the identification card include a certification that the officer has been tested or otherwise determined to meet the standards to carry a firearm as a law enforcement officer within the past 12 months.

2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.

STATEMENT

Current State law permits a retired law enforcement officer to carry a firearm if the officer is a “qualified retired law enforcement officer” under the federal “Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004.” To meet this federal designation, the retired officer must have a retired officer identification card, but law enforcement agencies in the State have discretion over whether to issue this identification. It is the sponsor’s understanding that certain enforcement agencies have refused to issue a retired officer identification card even to retirees who meet the federal standards.

This bill would remove the law enforcement agency’s discretion in issuing a retired officer identification card if the officer meets the following requirements included in the federal law and submits a written request: (1) the officer retired in good standing, other than for reasons of mental instability; (2) before such retirement, the officer was authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, or incarceration of any person, and had statutory powers of arrest; (3) before such retirement, the officer was regularly employed for more than 15 years or retired from service after fewer than 15 years due to a service-connected disability; (4) the officer had a right to benefits under the retirement plan of the agency; (5) during the most recent year, the officer met the State’s standards to carry firearms; (6) the officer is not under the influence of alcohol or drugs; and (7) the officer is not prohibited by federal law from receiving a firearm.

Under the bill, the Attorney General would establish standards for retired law enforcement identification cards which must contain a digitized color picture and certification of the required training to carry a firearm issued within the last year.