ASSEMBLY LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 3119

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 5, 2023

      The Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 3119.

      As amended and reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 3119 clarifies that law enforcement officers appointed by a public institution of higher education, the New Jersey Transit Corporation, or the Burlington County Bridge Commission are eligible for special disciplinary arbitration.

      The amended bill expands the current definition of “law enforcement officer” to clarify that law enforcement officers appointed by a public institution of higher education, the New Jersey Transit Corporation, or the Burlington County Bridge Commission are eligible for special disciplinary arbitration. The provisions of the amended bill codify the holding in In re DiGuglielmo, 252 N.J. 350 (2022), in which the New Jersey Supreme Court found that the Legislature did not intend to limit eligibility for special disciplinary arbitration only to law enforcement officers employed by a municipal law enforcement agency.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

      The committee amendments provide that law enforcement officers appointed by a public institution of higher education, the New Jersey Transit Corporation, or the Burlington County Bridge Commission are eligible for special disciplinary arbitration. As introduced, the bill broadly provided that officers appointed by a public institution of higher education and the New Jersey Transit Corporation were entitled to the rights and privileges afforded to municipal law enforcement officers pursuant to the provisions of chapter 14 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes. Additionally, the committee amendments make technical changes.