[Second Reprint]

SENATE, No. 1567

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

216th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 27, 2014

Sponsored by:

Senator  ANTHONY R. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Somerset)

Senator  JEFF VAN DREW

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

Assemblyman  ANTHONY M. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Somerset)

Assemblyman  JON M. BRAMNICK

District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)

Assemblyman  GORDON M. JOHNSON

District 37 (Bergen)

Assemblywoman  ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

Assemblyman  SCOTT T. RUMANA

District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Pennacchio, Gordon, Madden, Assemblywoman McHose, Assemblymen Space, Chivukula, Andrzejczak, Assemblywomen N.Munoz, Phoebus and Assemblyman Diegnan

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes DOT roadside memorial program for fallen police officers, sheriff’s officer, EMS workers, and firefighters; designated as “Patrolman Joseph Wargo’s Law.”

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As amended by the Senate on May 18, 2015.

An Act directing the Department of Transportation to establish a roadside memorial program honoring fallen police officers, ²sheriff's officers,² EMS workers, and firefighters, ²designated as "Patrolman Joseph Wargo's Law,"² and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes.

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

     1.    a. The Department of Transportation shall establish, consistent with federal law, a fallen police officer, ¹sheriff’s officer,¹ EMS worker, and firefighter memorial sign program that shall honor those who lost their lives in the line of duty.  The program shall include a process allowing a municipal or law enforcement official or the next of kin of a police officer, ¹sheriff’s officer,¹ EMS worker, or firefighter to apply to the department to sponsor a sign memorializing ¹[such] the¹ police officer, ¹sheriff’s officer,¹ EMS worker, or firefighter ¹[whose death occurred after the effective date of P.L.    , c.   (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)]¹.

     b.  The applicant shall complete a fallen police officer, ¹sheriff’s officer,¹ EMS worker, and firefighter memorial sign program application furnished by the department.  The applicant shall include with the application the following information:

     (1)  The name and title of the individual who was fatally injured as it should appear on the memorial;

     (2)  The date of the fatality;

     (3)  The location of the fatality;

     (4) An affidavit by the applicant that the individual to be memorialized was a fallen police officer, ¹sheriff’s officer,¹ EMS worker, or firefighter who died in the line of duty;

     (5) Any police reports or other legal documentation related to the fatality available to the applicant at the time of the application;

     (6)  ¹The requested location of the proposed memorial sign;

(7)¹  Any other information the Commissioner of Transportation may deem reasonably necessary to include with the application.

     c.  The department shall, within ¹[60] 180¹ days of receipt of a properly completed application submitted pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of this section, make an inspection of the location of the ¹[accident] proposed memorial site¹ and send a written decision to the applicant as to whether a sign may be installed at the location of the ¹[accident] proposed memorial site¹ in compliance with P.L.    , c.   (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

     d.  The department may charge an application fee to cover necessary costs associated with the department’s administration of the fallen police officer, ¹sheriff’s officer,¹ EMS worker, and firefighter memorial sign program established pursuant to this section.

     2.  a.  Within ¹[60] 90¹ days of reaching an agreement, pursuant to section 3 of P.L.    , c.   (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), for payment of the costs to have installed a memorial sign honoring a fallen police officer, ¹sheriff’s officer,¹ EMS worker, or firefighter¹,¹ the department shall install a sign, ¹[provided by the applicant and approved] designed and fabricated¹ by the department, which sign shall be consistent with applicable federal regulations and installed in the ¹[department maintained] department-maintained, State-owned¹ right-of-way, at cost to the applicant, ¹[near] at¹ the location ¹[of the accident] agreed upon by the department and the applicant¹ and facing the oncoming traffic, without obstructing the visibility of an existing traffic sign.

     b.  Signs installed pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall not be placed on on-ramps or off-ramps, in close proximity to highway exits, ¹[or]¹ in any other location where ¹[such]¹ installation would, in the department’s determination, be hazardous or a distraction to motorists ¹, or in a location that conflicts with applicable federal or State laws¹.

     c.  The department shall retain the authority to remove any signs where ¹[such]¹ removal is necessary to ensure traffic safety and safety of department personnel, notwithstanding that ¹[such] the¹ signs were installed with department approval.

     d.  The department shall administer the program in compliance with all applicable federal laws or regulations, including, but not limited to, any restrictions related to the State’s receipt of transportation funding under any federally administered program.

     3.  No State or other public funds shall be used for producing, purchasing, or erecting memorial signs pursuant to ¹[this act] P.L.  c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)¹.  The Commissioner of Transportation is authorized to receive gifts, grants, or other financial assistance from private sources for the purpose of funding or reimbursing the Department of Transportation for the ¹administrative and other¹ costs associated with ¹inspecting the proposed memorial site and¹ producing, purchasing, and erecting memorial signs pursuant to section 1 of ¹[this act] P.L.     c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)¹ and entering into agreements related thereto, with ¹[such]¹ private sources, including but not limited to non-governmental non-profit, educational or charitable entities or institutions.  No work shall proceed and no funding shall be accepted by the Department of Transportation until an agreement has been reached with a responsible party for paying the costs associated with producing, purchasing, erecting¹,¹ and maintaining the memorial signs.

     4.  The Commissioner of Transportation shall, pursuant to the provisions of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of P.L.    , c.   (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

     5.  This act shall take effect immediately.