ASSEMBLY, No. 232

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

210th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2002 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ARLINE M. FRISCIA

District 19 (Middlesex)

Assemblyman GARY L. GUEAR, SR.

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

SYNOPSIS

    Imposes penalty for leaving child unattended in motor vehicle under certain circumstances.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

    Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning unattended children in motor vehicles 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. This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Child Defense Act."

    2. As used in this act:

    "Unattended" refers to a child who has been left in a motor vehicle by a parent, legal guardian or other person responsible for that child, when that parent, guardian or other person is more than 10 feet from the vehicle and unable to continuously observe the child.

    "Unsupervised" refers to an unattended child when a person 14 years of age or older is not present in the motor vehicle.

    3. a. A parent, legal guardian or other person responsible for a child younger than 14 years of age who leaves the child unattended and unsupervised in a motor vehicle shall be a petty disorderly person and subject to a fine of not less than $500. If the child suffers bodily injury as a result of being left unattended and unsupervised, the parent, guardian or other person shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree. If the child suffers significant or serious bodily injury, the parent, guardian or other person shall be guilty of a crime of the second degree. Motor vehicle points shall not be assessed for this offense.

    b. A law enforcement officer who observes a child left unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle in violation of subsection a. of this section may use whatever means are reasonably necessary to protect the child and remove the child from the vehicle.

    c. If the child is removed from the immediate area by the law enforcement officer pursuant to subsection b. of this section, notification shall be placed on the vehicle. A child removed from a vehicle pursuant to this act shall be placed under supervision of the Division of Youth and Family Services if the law enforcement officer is unable to locate the parent, guardian or other person responsible for the child.

    d. A law enforcement officer shall not be liable in any civil action by any party for any act or omission performed in good faith under this act.

    4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill is intended to provide a deterrent to parents who leave their children unattended and unsupervised in motor vehicles. Children left unattended in vehicles have suffered serious consequences due to weather conditions and intrusions by strangers with malicious intentions.

    Under the bill, a parent, guardian or other person who leaves a child under 14 years of age unattended and unsupervised in a motor vehicle would be a petty disorderly person and subject to a fine of not less than $500, a term of imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both. The bill defines an unattended child as one who is left in a motor vehicle by a parent, guardian or other person who is more than 10 feet from the vehicle and unable to continuously observe the child. Such a child would be unsupervised, under the bill, when a person 14 years of age or older is not present in the vehicle.

    If the child suffers bodily injury as the result of being left unattended and unsupervised in a motor vehicle, the parent, guardian or other person would be charged with a crime of the third degree. If the child suffers significant or serious bodily injury, the parent, guardian or other person would be charged with a crime of the second degree. A crime of the third degree is punishable by imprisonment for three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both. A crime of the second degree is punishable by imprisonment for five to 10 years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.

    The bill authorizes a law enforcement officer who observes an unattended child in a motor vehicle under these circumstances to take any action necessary to protect the child and remove the child from the vehicle. The officer would be required to place a notification on the vehicle if the child is removed from the immediate area. The officer would be required to place the child under the supervision of the Division of Youth and Family Services if the parent cannot be located.

    A law enforcement officer who acts in good faith to carry out the provisions of this act would be protected from civil suits.