Bill Text: NJ S1533 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits health care providers to report certain patient health problems to MVC.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-09-27 - Reported out of Assembly Comm. with Amendments, 2nd Reading [S1533 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S1533-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Permits health care providers to report certain patient health problems to MVC.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the reporting of impaired drivers and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A physician may report to the Motor Vehicle Commission the name, age, address, and description of the alleged disability of any person 16 years of age or older diagnosed by the physician with a health problem which, in the physician's judgment, will significantly affect the person's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. The Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services, shall prescribe and furnish the forms on which such reports are to be made.
b. In order to be assured that no person is unwarrantedly denied the privilege of operating a motor vehicle in this State because of reports submitted under the provisions of this act, the chief administrator, in consultation with the commissioner, shall establish a procedure for the evaluation and screening of cases so reported.
c. Reports submitted pursuant to the provisions of this act shall be for the information of the chief administrator in administering State motor vehicle laws and shall be kept in the confidence of the commission and shall not be revealed or used by the commission in any manner or any circumstances expect for the purpose of determining the eligibility of a person to operate a motor vehicle on the highways of this State.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would authorize a physician to report to the Motor Vehicle Commission the name, age, address, and description of the alleged disability of any person aged 16 or older diagnosed by the physician with a health problem which, in the physician's judgment, significantly affects the person's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.
Under current law, physicians are required to report certain diagnoses including, but not limited to, convulsive seizures to the commission. This bill would authorize doctors to report patients they do not feel are able to safety operate a motor vehicle even if they do not fit the current mandatory reporting criteria.
The Motor Vehicle Commission in cooperation with the Department of Health and Senior Services would be responsible for developing forms on which physicians would make a report and a procedure for evaluating the reports that are received to be sure that no person is unwarrantedly denied the privilege of operating a motor vehicle.
