Bill > A5091

Introduced Session

This bill, the "Safeguarding Against Financial Exploitation Act," establishes protections from financial exploitation for vulnerable adults. The bill supplements the "Uniform Securities Law (1967)" and thus adopts the definitions and regulatory framework of that law. The bill defines an eligible adult as a person 65 years of age or older or a person subject to the "Adult Protective Services Act," P.L.1993, c.249 (C.52:27D-406 et seq.). The bill provides that when a qualified individual, defined as any agent, investment adviser representative or other person who serves in a supervisory, compliance, or legal capacity for a broker-dealer or investment adviser, believes that financial exploitation of an eligible adult has occurred or is being attempted, the qualified individual shall notify the Bureau of Securities in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety and the applicable county adult protective services provider. In addition, the qualified individual shall notify any third party previously designated by the eligible adult, unless the third party is the party suspected of the financial exploitation. The bill provides that a qualified individual who makes disclosure in good faith shall be immune from administrative, civil or criminal liability. The bill also provides that a broker-dealer or investment adviser may delay a disbursement from an account of an eligible adult or an account on which an eligible adult is a beneficiary when the disbursement may result in financial exploitation. A broker-dealer or investment adviser who complies with these delays shall be immune from any administrative or civil liability that might otherwise arise from the delay in a disbursement in accordance with this bill. The bill requires the broker-dealer or investment adviser to provide access to or copies of records that are relevant to the suspected or attempted financial exploitation of an eligible adult to agencies charged with administering state adult protective services laws and to law enforcement. The bill also provides that those records made available to agencies shall not be deemed to be public records.

Committee Categories

John McKeon (D)*,  Nancy Pinkin (D)*,  Nellie Pou (D)*,  Troy Singleton (D)*,  Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D)*,  Gerald Cardinale (R),  Yvonne Lopez (D),  Angela Mcknight (D), 

Approved P.L.2019, c.340. (on 01/13/2020)