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An
Act establishing a New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research,
supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes and amending R.S.39:5-41.
Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New
Jersey:
C.52:9EE-1 Short title.
1. This
act shall be known and may be cited as the "Brain Injury Research Act."
C.52:9EE-2 Definitions relative to brain injury
research.
2. As
used in this act:
"Approved
research project" means a scientific research project, which is approved by the
commission and which focuses on the treatment and cure of brain injuries.
"Commission" means the New Jersey State Commission on Brain Injury Research established
pursuant to this act.
"Institutional
support services" means all services, facilities, equipment, personnel and
expenditures associated with the creation and maintenance of approved research
projects.
"Qualifying
research institution" means the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and any other institution
approved by the commission, which is conducting an approved research
project.
C.52:9EE-3 New Jersey State Commission on Brain
Injury Research.
3. a. There
is established in the Executive Branch of the State government, the New Jersey
State Commission on Brain Injury Research. For the purposes of complying with
the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey
Constitution, the commission is allocated within the Department of Health, but notwithstanding that allocation, the commission shall be
independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any board or
officer thereof.
b. The
commission shall consist of 11 members, including the Commissioner of Health and
Senior Services, or his designee, who shall serve ex officio; one representative
of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; one representative of
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; six public members, appointed by
the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of whom shall be a
licensed physician in this State and one of whom shall be a person with a brain
injury; and two public members, one of whom shall be appointed by the President
of the Senate and one of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General
Assembly. All public members shall be residents of the State or otherwise
associated with the State, and shall be known for their knowledge, competence,
experience or interest in brain injury medical research.
c. The
term of office of each public member shall be three years, but of the members
first appointed, three shall be appointed for terms of one year, three for terms
of two years, and two for terms of three years. All vacancies shall be filled
for the balances of the unexpired terms in the same manner as the original
appointments. Appointed members are eligible for reappointment upon the
expiration of their terms. A member shall continue to serve upon the expiration
of his term until a successor is appointed.
The members
of the commission shall not receive compensation for their services, but shall
be reimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties as members of the commission.
C.52:9EE-4 Duties of commission.
4. The
commission shall:
a. Review
and authorize approved research projects, emphasizing projects that study nerve
regeneration as a means to a cure for brain injury, and may establish an
independent scientific advisory panel composed of scientists and clinicians who
are not members of the commission to review proposals submitted to the
commission and make funding recommendations to the commission;
b. Apportion
all available funds to qualifying research institutions to finance approved
research projects and necessary institutional support services;
c. Ensure
that funds so apportioned to approved research projects are not diverted to any
other use;
d. Take
steps necessary to encourage the development within the State of brain injury
research projects;
e. Compile
a directory of all brain injury research projects being conducted in the State;
and
f. Provide
the Governor and the Legislature with a report by January 30 of each year
describing the status of the commission's activities and the results of its
funded research efforts.
C.52:9EE-5 Authority of commission.
5. The
commission is authorized to:
a. Adopt
rules and regulations concerning the operation of the commission, the functions
and responsibilities of its officers and employees, the use of moneys from the "New Jersey Brain Injury Research Fund" established pursuant to section 9 of
P.L.2003, c.200 (C.52:9EE-9) to meet the operating expenses of the commission,
and other matters as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this act;
b. Maintain
offices at such places within the State as it may designate;
c. Employ
an executive director and other personnel as may be necessary, whose employment
shall be in the unclassified service of the State, except that employees
performing stenographic or clerical duties shall be appointed pursuant to Title
11A (Civil Service) of the New Jersey Statutes;
d. Design
a fair and equitable system for the solicitation, evaluation and approval of
proposals for brain injury research projects;
e. Apply
for and accept any grant of money from the federal government, which may be
available for programs relating to research on brain injury;
f. Enter
into contracts with individuals, organizations and institutions necessary or
incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers
under this act; and
g Accept
gifts, grants and bequests of funds from individuals, foundations, corporations,
governmental agencies and other organizations and institutions.
C.52:9EE-6 Election of officers.
6. The
commission shall annually elect a chairman and a vice-chairman from among its
members. The chairman shall be the chief executive officer of the commission,
shall preside at all meetings of the commission and shall perform other duties
that the commission may prescribe.
The
executive director shall serve as secretary to the commission and shall carry
out its policies under the direction of the chairman.
C.52:9EE-7 Direct applications for funds.
7. Nothing
in this act shall preclude a qualifying research institution or any other
research facility in the State from directly applying for or receiving funds
from any public or private agency to conduct brain injury research.
C.52:9EE-8 Central registry of persons who
sustain brain injuries.
8. a. The
commission shall establish and maintain, in conjunction with the Department of Health, a central registry of persons who sustain brain
injuries other than through disease, whether or not the injury results in a
permanent disability, in order to provide a database that indicates the
incidence and prevalence of brain injuries and that will serve as a resource for
research, evaluation and information on brain injuries and available
services.
b. The
commission shall require the reporting of all cases of brain injuries, except
those caused through disease, and the submission of specified additional
information on reported cases as it deems necessary and appropriate.
The
commission shall, by regulation, specify the health care facilities and
providers required to make the report of a brain injury to the registry,
information that shall be included in the report to the registry, the method for
making the report and the time period in which the report shall be made.
c. The
reports made pursuant to this section are to be used only by the commission and
the Department of Health and such other agencies as may be
designated by the commission or the department and shall not otherwise be
divulged or made public so as to disclose the identity of any person to whom
they relate; and to that end, the reports shall not be included under materials
available to public inspection pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.)
and P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.).
d. No
individual or organization providing information to the commission in accordance
with this section shall be deemed to be, or held liable for, divulging
confidential information. Nothing in this section shall be construed to compel
any individual to submit to medical, commission or department examination or
supervision.
e. A
health care facility or health care provider who is required to report a brain
injury to the commission and who fails to comply with the provisions of this
section shall be liable to a penalty of up to $100 per unreported brain injury
case. A penalty sued for under the provisions of this section shall be recovered
by and in the name of the commission and shall be deposited in the "New Jersey
Brain Injury Research Fund" established pursuant to this act.
C.52:9EE-9 "New Jersey Brain Injury Research
Fund."
9. a. There
is established in the Department of the Treasury a nonlapsing revolving fund to
be known as the "New Jersey Brain Injury Research Fund." This fund shall be the
repository for moneys provided pursuant to subsection f. of R.S.39:5-41. Moneys
deposited in the fund, and any interest earned thereon, shall be used for the
purpose of making grants for brain injury research projects at qualified
research institutions approved by the New Jersey State Commission on Brain
Injury Research, and for the purpose of meeting the operating expenses of the
commission.
b. Any
costs incurred by the department in the collection or administration of the fund
may be deducted from the funds deposited therein, as determined by the Director
of the Division of Budget and Accounting.
10. R.S.39:5-41
is amended to read as follows:
Fines, penalties, forfeitures, disposition of;
exceptions.
39:5-41. a.
All fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of
law for any violations of R.S.39:4-63 and R.S.39:4-64 shall be forwarded by the
judge to whom the same have been paid to the proper financial officer of a
county, if the violation occurred within the jurisdiction of that county's
central municipal court, established pursuant to N.J.S.2B:12-1 et seq. or the
municipality wherein the violation occurred, to be used by the county or
municipality to help finance litter control activities in addition to or
supplementing existing litter pickup and removal activities in the
municipality.
b. Except
as otherwise provided by subsection a. of this section, all fines, penalties and
forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law for any violations of
the provisions of this Title, other than those violations in which the
complaining witness is the director, a member of his staff, a member of the
State Police, a member of a county police department and force or a county park
police system in a county that has established a central municipal court, an
inspector of the Board of Public Utilities, or a law enforcement officer of any
other State agency, shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same have been
paid as follows: one-half of the total amount collected to the financial
officer, as designated by the local governing body, of the respective
municipalities wherein the violations occurred, to be used by the municipality
for general municipal use and to defray the cost of operating the municipal
court; and one-half of the total amount collected to the proper financial
officer of the county wherein they were collected, to be used by the county as a
fund for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of roads and
bridges, snow removal, the acquisition and purchase of rights-of-way, and the
purchase, replacement and repair of equipment for use on said roads and bridges
therein. Up to 25% of the money received by a municipality pursuant to this
subsection, but not more than the actual amount budgeted for the municipal
court, whichever is less, may be used to upgrade case processing.
All fines,
penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law for any
violations of the provisions of this Title, in which the complaining witness is
a member of a county police department and force or a county park police system
in a county that has established a central municipal court, shall be forwarded
by the judge to whom the same have been paid to the financial officer,
designated by the governing body of the county, for all violations occurring
within the jurisdiction of that court, to be used for general county use and to
defray the cost of operating the central municipal court.
Whenever any
county has deposited moneys collected pursuant to this section in a special
trust fund in lieu of expending the same for the purposes authorized by this
section, it may withdraw from said special trust fund in any year an amount
which is not in excess of the amount expended by the county over the immediately
preceding three-year period from general county revenues for said purposes. Such
moneys withdrawn from the trust fund shall be accounted for and used as are
other general county revenues.
c. (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1993, c.293.)
d. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to
the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected through a court under
authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State
and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State
Treasurer. In addition, upon the forfeiture of bail, $1 of that forfeiture shall
be forwarded to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually deposit
those moneys so forwarded in the "Body Armor Replacement" fund established
pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1997, c.177 (C.52:17B-4.4). Beginning in the fiscal
year next following the effective date of this act, the State Treasurer annually
shall allocate from those moneys so forwarded an amount not to exceed $400,000
to the Department of Personnel to be expended exclusively for the purposes of
funding the operation of the "Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention
Services" telephone hotline established and maintained under the provisions of
P.L.1998, c.149 (C.11A:2-25 et al.).
e. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to
the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected through a court under
authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State
and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State
Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded
in the "New Jersey Spinal Cord Research Fund" established pursuant to section 9
of P.L.1999, c.201 (C.52:9E-9). In order to comply with the provisions of
Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 of the State Constitution, a municipal or
county agency which forwards moneys to the State Treasurer pursuant to this
subsection may retain an amount equal to 2% of the moneys which it collects
pursuant to this subsection as compensation for its administrative costs
associated with implementing the provisions of this subsection.
f. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, during the period
beginning on the effective date of this act and ending five years thereafter, $1
shall be added to the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected
through a court under authority of any law for any violation of the provisions
of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic
violation in this State and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same
are paid to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually deposit
those moneys so forwarded in the "Autism Medical Research and Treatment Fund" established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2003, c.144 (C.30:6D-62.2).
g. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsection a. and b. of this section, $2 shall be added to the
amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected by a court under authority
of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised
Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State and shall
be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State Treasurer. The
State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded in the "New
Jersey Forensic DNA Laboratory Fund" established pursuant to P.L.2003, c.183.
Prior to depositing the moneys into the fund, the State Treasurer shall forward
to the Administrative Office of the Courts an amount not to exceed $475,000 from
moneys initially collected pursuant to this subsection to be used exclusively to
establish a collection mechanism and to provide funding to update the Automated
Traffic System Fund created pursuant to N.J.S.2B:12-30 to implement the
provisions of this subsection.
The
authority to impose additional fines and penalties under this subsection shall
take effect 90 days after the effective date of P.L.2003, c.183 and shall expire
five years thereafter. Not later than the 180th day prior to such expiration,
the Attorney General shall prepare and submit to the Governor and the
Legislature a report on the collection and use of DNA samples under P.L.1994,
c.136. The report shall cover the period beginning on that effective date and
ending four years thereafter. The report shall indicate separately, for each
one-year period during those four years that begins on that effective date or an
anniversary thereof, the number of each type of biological sample taken and the
total cost of taking that type of sample, and also the number of identifications
and exonerations achieved through the use of the samples. In addition, the
report shall evaluate the effectiveness, including cost effectiveness, of having
the samples available to further police investigations and other forensic
purposes.
h. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to
the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected under authority of any
law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes or
any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State and shall be
forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State Treasurer. The
State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded in the "New
Jersey Brain Injury Research Fund" established pursuant to section 9 of
P.L.2003, c.200 (C.52:9EE-9). The Administrative Office of the Courts may retain
an amount equal to $475,000 from the moneys which it initially collects pursuant
to this subsection, prior to depositing any moneys in the "New Jersey Brain
Injury Research Fund," in order to meet the expenses associated with utilizing
the Automated Traffic System Fund created pursuant to N.J.S.2B:12-30 to
implement the provisions of this subsection and serve other statutory
purposes.
C.52:9EE-10 Regulations.
11. The
commission shall adopt regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) as are necessary to carry out the
provisions of this act.
12. This
act shall take effect on the 180thday following enactment.
Approved
January 2, 2004.
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