Sponsored by:
Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires televisions in places of public accommodation display closed captioning for programming.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning closed captioning for televisions in places of public accommodation and amending P.L.2026, c.58.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2026, c.58 (C.52:1-1.4) is amended to read as follows:
1. Every television that is located in any portion of a building owned or leased by the State for the use of any State agency or in any portion of a facility defined as a place of public accommodation pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5) that is available for viewing by members of the public or public employees shall continuously display, during all hours of operation of the building or facility, closed captioning for all programming for which closed captioning is available.
As used in this section:
“Closed captioning” means the visual display of written words on a television screen of the audio portion of video programming; and
“State agency” means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of the State Government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission or other instrumentality within or created by such department, and, to the extent consistent with law, any interstate agency to which New Jersey is a party and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or agency.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any television manufactured prior to the effective date of P.L.2026, c.58 (C.52:1-1.4) that cannot accommodate closed captioning.
(cf: P.L.2026, c.58, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends section 1 of P.L.2026, c.58 (C.52:1-1.4) to expand the requirement that every television located in any portion of a building owned or leased by the State for the use of a State agency that is available for viewing by members of the public or public employees continuously display closed captioning for all programming for which closed captioning is available to also to include any portion of a facility defined as a place of public accommodation pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5), and that the closed captioning shall be continuously displayed during all hours of operation of the building or facility.
Currently, the law’s closed captioning mandate only applies to televisions that are located in buildings owned or leased by the State for use as State agencies. This bill would expand the mandate to include televisions located in all facilities defined as places of public accommodation, and would require that closed captioning be continuously displayed during all hours of operation of such buildings or facilities.