STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator GERALD CARDINALE
District 39 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
“Tommy’s Law”; requires NJT to provide crisis counseling to injured persons and families of persons killed in incidents involving NJT motorbuses and rail and light rail vehicles.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain services provided by the New Jersey Transit Corporation, designated as “Tommy’s Law,” and supplementing P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-1 et al.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The corporation shall designate an employee as a crisis counselor to provide crisis counseling to any person injured, and to any member of the person’s immediate family if the person was killed, as a result of an incident involving a motorbus or rail or light rail vehicle operated by or under contract with the corporation. The corporation shall establish procedures and methods by which a crisis counselor shall provide individual and group crisis counseling, which may include support groups, family crisis intervention, and professional referrals. In addition to the duties and responsibilities as a crisis counselor, the designated employee shall:
(1) provide any information, to the extent permitted by law, to the person injured or, for a person killed, a member of the person’s immediate family, and promptly respond to any reasonable inquiry by the person injured or, for a person killed, a member of the person’s immediate family; and
(2) upon the conclusion of an investigation related to a person injured or killed, return all personal belongings in the possession of the corporation to a person injured or, for a person killed, a member of the person’s immediate family.
b. As used in this section, “member of the person’s immediate family” means a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or next of kin.
2. This act shall take effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative for 60 days following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill is to be known as “Tommy’s Law” in memory of Thomas Ryan, who tragically died when he was struck by a train traveling approximately 70 miles per hour at the Main Street Station in Ramsey, Bergen County.
The bill requires the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) to designate an employee as a crisis counselor to provide crisis counseling to any person injured, and to any member of the person’s immediate family if the person was killed, as a result of an incident involving a motorbus or rail or light rail vehicle operated by or under contract with NJ Transit. NJ Transit is to establish procedures and methods by which a crisis counselor is to provide individual and group crisis counseling to those persons, which may include support groups, family crisis intervention, and professional referrals. As a crisis counselor, the designated employee is to: 1) provide any information, to the extent permitted by law, to the person injured or, for a person killed, a member of the person’s immediate family, and promptly respond to any reasonable inquiry by the person injured or, for a person killed, a member of the person’s immediate family; and 2) upon the conclusion of an investigation related to a person injured or killed, return all personal belongings in NJ Transit’s possession to a person injured or, for a person killed, a member of the person’s immediate family.