Testa Bill Package Addresses New Shore Realities

TRENTON – First District Sen. Michael Testa has introduced a package of bills aimed at new challenges confronting shore communities. 
The proposed legislation speaks to the rise of juvenile crowds engaged in rowdy behavior, building flexibility into municipal cannabis decisions, dealing with a surge in motor vehicle thefts, crime data reporting and better tools for municipalities to use to prevent “pop-up” gatherings that often result in lawless behaviors.
In Senate bill S-3622, Testa seeks to permit municipalities to establish alcohol-free and cannabis-free areas and to impose penalties for violators. 
Towns would establish such zones through ordinances, which may be permanent or temporary. Such an ordinance would, among other uses, be another tool available to police in controlling what the bill calls “disturbances and disorderly assemblages.”  
In a related bill, SR-113, Testa urges the governor and attorney general to provide assistance to municipalities in response to unauthorized mass gatherings and “pop-up parties.” 
The bill states that local communities are experiencing a “major increase” in mass gatherings in public streets, parks, and beaches, often promoted using social media. 
The bill seeks to have the governor and attorney general “find permanent solutions” that enhance a town’s response to such gatherings. 
The bill maintains that state assistance may help communities better anticipate such gatherings, as well as “hold organizers and attendees who incite hazards accountable for their misdeeds.”
S-3623 would return flexible control to municipal governing bodies with respect to regulating the emerging cannabis industry. It removes the five-year moratorium on municipalities passing ordinances or regulations related to the emerging industry. 
The bill would allow towns to react to changing circumstances unknown when previous permissions were granted to cannabis businesses within a town’s limits.
In Senate bill S-3616, Testa seeks to establish a rebuttable presumption that individuals engaged in motor vehicle theft be detained prior to trial. The bill also establishes mandatory sentencing for those convicted of such thefts. 
State police estimate that motor vehicle thefts have increased by more than 5,000 since 2020. Gov. Phil Murphy called the rise in auto thefts a “near epidemic.” Testa’s bill would provide another level of deterrence.
Currently, the state has no deadline for publishing crime report data that is collected quarterly from municipal and county police departments. Testa’s bill, S-3620, would require the attorney general to make this data available to the public within six months of the end of each quarter. 
The bill has a simple premise – the public has an interest in and right to access crime data that is already being collected. Such data provides statistical confirmation of general statements about the rise or decline in crime overall and in terms of specific offenses.
The sixth bill in the package, S-3398, permits designation of special event zones for regulating traffic during large events. The impetus for the bill arose from the unsanctioned car rally in Wildwood in September 2022 that resulted in two fatalities and other injuries.
In the statement on the bill, it states, “Under current law, the Commissioner of Transportation is required to approve certain types of local traffic regulations before those regulations may take effect. Under the bill, the designation of a special event zone by a county or municipality would take effect without requiring the approval of the commissioner.”
In a press release on the bill package, Testa stated, “The lawlessness I have seen play out in South Jersey and elsewhere is shocking.” 
He adds that the bill package would aid “residents who follow the rules, respect the police, and demand their elected officials to help keep them safe.” 
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.