AJR222

A Joint Resolution establishing the Drug Laws Study and Review Commission to study and review Title 2C drug laws and recommend revisions.

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

1. a. There is hereby created a commission to be known as the "Drug Laws Study and Review Commission" to consist of 9 members as follows:

(1) one member appointed by the Governor, who shall be the chairperson of the commission, and who shall be a retired judge with experience in the Criminal Division of the Superior Court or a retired justice of the Supreme Court;

(2) the Public Defender, or his designee;

(3) the Attorney General, or his designee;

(4) the President of the New Jersey County Prosecutors Association, or his designee;

(5) one public member appointed by the Senate President;

(6) one public member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader;

(7) one public member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly;

(8) one public member appointed by the Assembly Minority Leader; and

(9) the Administrative Director of the Courts or his designee.

In selecting the public members, the Senate President, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the General Assembly, the Assembly Minority Leader and the Governor should seek to include persons who have experience, training, or academic background in victims' rights advocacy, corrections, judicial administration or criminal law.

Any vacancy in the membership of the commission shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as the original appointment.

b. The commission shall organize as soon as possible after the appointment of its members.

c. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.

d. In addition, the commission is entitled to the assistance and services of such employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as may be made available to it and to employ such legal, stenographic, technical, and clerical assistance and incur such expenses as may be necessary in order to perform its duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes.

2. a. It shall be the duty of the commission to study and review the Title 2C drug laws, including but not limited to the “Comprehensive Drug Reform Act,” N.J.S. 2C:35-1 et al., with respect to the grading of drug crimes, the quantities of controlled substance used for grading, the decriminalization and reduction of penalties for drug crimes and decriminalization for consideration of possible recommendations for revisions to the laws. Specifically, the commission shall consider:

(1) the grading of drug crimes, including, grading relative to the quantity of the controlled substance;

(2) the impact of existing sentences for drug crimes upon the State’s criminal justice system, including state prison capacity, local jail capacity, community supervision resources, judicial operations, and law enforcement responsibilities;

(3) the relation that existing penalties for drug crimes has to public safety and the likelihood of recidivism;

(4) the anticipated future trends in drug crimes sentencing; and

(5) decriminalization and other means of reducing or eliminating criminal penalties, including but not limited to lowering drug offense degrees.

b. As provided in section 4 of P.L. c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the commission shall submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report containing its recommendations. The commission's reports shall include, but need not be limited to, recommendations regarding:

(1) An assessment of the current New Jersey drug crimes law, and a consideration as to whether the sentencing options for drug crimes available to courts are sufficient or should be expanded in some manner to provide a greater range of sentencing options;

(2) A recommendation as to whether the grading scheme for drug crimes should be revised, including whether there should be a decriminalization of some drug crimes and if so which drug crimes would be suitable for reclassification or decriminalization;

(3 A projection of the impact, if any, on the size of New Jersey's correctional and supervised offender populations of the implementation of each measure proposed by the commission;

(4) A recommendation for intermediate, alternative or additional sanctions that should be made available in the New Jersey criminal justice system, including proposals for alternatives to incarceration for suitable offenders, the estimated cost of such programs, and recommendations for rules or principles to guide a judge's imposition of such sanctions as part of a criminal sentence.

3. The commission shall constitute a commission of the Legislature in accordance with the provisions of Article IV, Section V, paragraph 2 of the New Jersey Constitution.

4. The commission shall issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature within two years of organization of the commission. The commission shall expire on the 30th day after the date of the issuance of its final report.

5. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This joint resolution establishes the "Drug Laws Study and Review Commission." The nine member commission would study and review the Title 2C drug laws, including but not limited to the “Comprehensive Drug Reform Act,” N.J.S. 2C:35-1 et al., with respect to the grading of drug crimes, the quantities of controlled substance used for grading, the decriminalization and reduction of penalties for drug crimes and decriminalization for consideration of possible recommendations for revisions to the laws. The membership of the commission would be as follows: one member appointed by the Governor, who shall be the chairperson of the commission, and who shall be a retired judge with experience in the Criminal Division of the Superior Court or a retired justice of the Supreme Court; the Public Defender, or his designee; the Attorney General, or his designee; the President of the New Jersey County Prosecutors Association, or his designee; one public member appointed by the Senate President; one public member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; one public member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; one public member appointed by the Assembly Minority Leader; and the Administrative Director of the Courts or his designee.

The bill provides that in selecting the public members, the appointing authorities should seek to include persons who have experience, training, or academic background in victims’ rights advocacy, corrections, judicial administration or criminal law. Any vacancy in the membership of the commission shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as the original appointment. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties. In addition, the commission is entitled to the assistance and services of such employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as may be made available to it and to employ such legal, stenographic, technical, and clerical assistance and incur such expenses as may be necessary in order to perform its duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes.

The commission is charged with the duty to study and review the Title 2C drug laws, including but not limited to the “Comprehensive Drug Reform Act,” N.J.S. 2C:35-1 et al., with respect to the grading of drug crimes, the quantities of controlled substance used for grading, the decriminalization and reduction of penalties for drug crimes and decriminalization for consideration of possible recommendations for revisions to the laws. Specifically, the commission shall consider:

(1) the grading of drug crimes, including, grading relative to the quantity of the controlled substance;

(3) the relation that existing penalties for drug crimes has to public safety and the likelihood of recidivism;

(4) the anticipated future trends in drug crimes sentencing; and

(5) Decriminalization and other means of reducing or eliminating criminal penalties, including but not limited to lowering drug offense degrees.

The commission would be required submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report containing its recommendations. The commission's report shall include, but need not be limited to, recommendations regarding:

(3 A projection of the impact, if any, on the size of New Jersey's correctional and supervised offender populations of the implementation of each measure proposed by the commission;