Read the full stored bill text
A1612
ASSEMBLY, No. 1612
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
���� Concerns certain interactions between law enforcement
officers and juveniles.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning law enforcement officers and amending
P.L.1991, c.465 and P.L.1983, c.105.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� Section 1 of P.L.1991,
c.465 (C.39:4-10.1) is amended to read as follows:
���� 1.� a.� A person under 17
years of age shall not operate, or ride upon a bicycle as a passenger, unless
that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet which
meets the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z90.4
bicycle helmet standard) or the Snell Memorial Foundation's 1990 Standard for
Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling.� This requirement shall apply to a
person who rides upon a bicycle while in a restraining seat which is attached
to the bicycle or in a trailer towed by the bicycle.
���� As used in this act,
"bicycle" means a vehicle with two wheels propelled solely by human
power and having pedals, handle bars and a saddle-like seat. The term shall
include a bicycle for two or more persons having seats and corresponding sets of
pedals arranged in tandem.
���� b.��� The director shall
publish a list of bicycle helmets which meet the standards described in
subsection a. of this section and shall provide for its distribution in as many
locations frequented by the public as the director deems appropriate and
practicable.
���� c.���� The requirement in
subsection a. of this section shall apply at all times while a bicycle is being
operated on any property open to the public or used by the public for
pedestrian and vehicular purposes; however, a municipality may by ordinance
exempt from this requirement a person operating or riding on a bicycle as a
passenger when the bicycle is operated:
���� (1)�� on a road or highway
closed to motor vehicle traffic and limited to pedestrian or bicycle use at all
times or only during specified periods of time during which bicycles may be
operated; or
���� (2)�� exclusively on a trail,
route, course, boardwalk, path or other area which is set aside for the use of
bicycles or for the use of pedestrians and bicycle operation is not otherwise
prohibited. However, an exemption may not be granted under this paragraph for
any portion of a trail, route, course, boardwalk, path or other area which is
immediately adjacent to a road or highway used by motor vehicle traffic and
which does not contain a barrier of sufficient height and rigidity to prevent
the inadvertent or deliberate entry of a bicycle operator onto the road or
highway.
���� d.��� An ordinance enacted
pursuant to subsection c. of this section shall specify those roads, highways,
trails, routes, courses, boardwalks, paths or areas within the municipality
where helmets are not required during the operation of a bicycle.
���� e.���� When a bicycle is being
operated in an area where bicycle helmets are not required, the operator or a
passenger, except a passenger in a restraining seat or trailer, shall dismount
from the bicycle and walk whenever it is necessary to enter a crosswalk or to
cross a road or highway upon which motor vehicle traffic is permitted.
����
f.� Nothing in section 1 of
P.L.1979, c.264 (C.2C:33-15) or section 3 of P.L.2021, c.25 (C.2C:30-6.1) shall
be construed to prohibit a law enforcement officer from speaking to, issuing a
warning pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.465 (C.39:4-10.2), or imposing any
applicable penalties on a person under 17 years of age or imposing a fine on
the person�s parent or guardian pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.465
(C.39:4-10.2) for the failure of the person under 17 years of age to wear a
helmet as required pursuant to this section.
(cf:� P.L.2005, c.208, s.1)
���� 2.� Section 17 of P.L.1983,
c.105 (C.39:4-14.3q) is amended to read as follows:
���� 17.� No person shall operate a
motorized bicycle unless he wears a protective helmet of a type approved by the
director. �
Nothing in section 1 of P.L.1979, c.264 (C.2C:33-15) or section 3
of P.L.2021, c.25 (C.2C:30-6.1) shall be construed to prohibit a law
enforcement officer from speaking to, warning, or imposing any applicable
penalties on a juvenile for the failure to wear a helmet as required by this
section.
����
As used in this section,
�juvenile� means an individual who is under the age of 18 years.
(cf:� P.L.1983, c.105, s.17)
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill concerns certain
interactions between law enforcement officers and juveniles.�
���� Under current law, a person
under the age of 17 is not to operate or ride on a bicycle as a passenger
unless the person is wearing a helmet.� In addition, a person is not to operate
a motorized bicycle unless the person wears a helmet.
���� Current law also provides that
law enforcement officers are prohibited from taking certain actions regarding
the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages or cannabis items against
persons who are under the legal age to purchase these items.� Current law also
provides that law enforcement officers are guilty of the crime of official
deprivation of civil rights if the officer knowingly violates this provision.�
���� This bill clarifies that the
prohibitions under current law on certain actions by law enforcement officers
regarding the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverage or cannabis items
by underage persons is not to be construed to prohibit a law enforcement
officer from speaking to, issuing a warning as permitted by current law, or
imposing any applicable penalties on a person under 17 years of age or imposing
a fine on the person�s parent or guardian as permitted by current law for the
failure of the person under 17 years of age to wear a helmet when operating or
riding a bicycle.
���� In addition, the bill provides
that current law is not to be construed to prohibit a law enforcement officer
from speaking to, warning, or imposing any applicable penalties on a juvenile
for the failure to wear a helmet when operating a motorized bicycle.