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S3372
SENATE, No. 3372
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� JAMES W. HOLZAPFEL
District 10 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator McKnight
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires issuance of tourniquets to law enforcement
officers; requires emergency service vehicles be equipped with tourniquets.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning
law enforcement officers and
emergency service vehicles
and supplementing various parts of the statutory law
.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� The superintendent
shall issue a tourniquet to every State trooper.
���� b.��� The tourniquets required
by subsection a. of this section may be funded by forfeiture funds collected
pursuant to N.J.S.2C:64-6, in an amount to be determined by the Attorney
General.
���� c.���� The Attorney General is
authorized to promulgate guidelines or directives, as appropriate, to implement
and enforce the provisions of this section.
���� 2.��� a. The chief law
enforcement officer of a county or municipal police department shall issue a
tourniquet to every law enforcement officer in that county or municipal police
department.
���� b.��� The tourniquets required
by subsection a. of this section may be funded by forfeiture funds collected
pursuant to N.J.S.2C:64-6, in an amount to be determined by the Attorney
General.
���� c.���� The Attorney General is
authorized to promulgate guidelines or directives, as appropriate, to implement
and enforce the provisions of this section.
���� 3.��� a.� For the purposes of
this section:
���� "Basic life support
ambulance" means an emergency medical services vehicle that is licensed by
the New Jersey Department of Health and operated in accordance with regulations
promulgated by the commissioner.
���� �In-service�
means the presence of a mobility
assistance vehicle or basic life support ambulance at a sending or receiving
health care facility; the picking up, transporting, or discharging of any
patient; or any instance where the mobility assistance vehicle or basic life
support ambulance is ready to accept patients and perform mobility assistance
or basic life support care.
���� "Mobility assistance
vehicle" means a specialized transport vehicle licensed by the New Jersey
Department of Health and operated in accordance with regulations promulgated by
the commissioner.
���� b.��� In addition to basic
equipment and supplies required by the Commissioner of Health, every basic life
support ambulance and mobility assistance vehicle shall be equipped with a
tourniquet while in-service.
���� c.���� The Commissioner of
Health is authorized to promulgate guidelines or directives, as appropriate, to
implement and enforce the provisions of this section.
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires tourniquets
to be issued to all State, county, and municipal law enforcement officers and
requires all emergency service vehicles to be equipped with a tourniquet.
���� Tourniquets are not currently
issued to all law enforcement officers in this State.� In addition, tourniquets
are not currently included as part of the basic equipment and supplies required
for emergency vehicles pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Commissioner
of Health.
���� In the United States, the use of tourniquets fell out of
favor following the civil war when they were questioned due to complications
associated with their indiscriminate use.� Until recently, tourniquets were
thought to be a last resort, to be used only when more conventional methods
(direct pressure, elevation, pressure point, and pressure dressing) were
unsuccessful.
�
���� In recent years t
here has been a resurgence in
the use of tourniquets.� The �first use� of the tourniquet has been found to
save numerous lives in a number of emergencies including the Boston Marathon
bombings and active shooter incidents.� Victims of motor vehicle accidents have
been saved in New Jersey by officers to whom tourniquets have been issued.� It
is the sponsor�s view that these life-saving tools should be issued to all law
enforcement officers, and be part of the basic equipment and supplies required
for emergency vehicles in this State.
���� Under the bill, a tourniquet
is required to be issued to every State, county, and municipal law enforcement
officer, and every basic life support ambulance and mobility assistance vehicle
licensed by the Department of Health is required to be equipped with a
tourniquet.�
���� The cost of the tourniquets
issued to law enforcement officers under the bill may be funded by forfeiture
funds received by the Attorney General as instrumentalities of crime.� Finally,
the bill authorizes the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Health to
promulgate guidelines or directives in order to enforce the provisions of the
bill.