Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, whose district includes 17 Morris County municipalities, was the only state legislator to vote against the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Monday.

The measure easily passed both houses of the New Jersey legislature, with a 32-0 vote in the state Senate and a 71-1 vote in the Assembly. 

But Carroll told Patch he'd like to see a better definition of what a bully is, equal treatment for harassment victims regardless of whether they're targeted for minority status, and more help for bullying victims.

"Most of this bill is paperwork and reporting," Carroll said. "If at the end of the day and you don't know how to deal with bullying, you probably should think twice. It is not difficult. It is not rocket science."

Carroll said the bill increases taxpayer liability by opening up schools and public institutions to lawsuits. He said he'd rather have simple language that says public employees who know about bullying and ignore it should be fired.

The legislation originated with a December 2009 report from the New Jersey Commission on Bullying in Schools, which put a spotlight on harassment among children. But it gained hightened attention after the death of Ridgewood's Tyler Clementi, who leapt to his death off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate allegedly distributed images of Clementi having intimate contact with another man at Rutgers University. 

"We in the legislature have a habit when there is a tragedy to decide to do something, when there may be a law [addressing the circumstance already]," Caroll said. "Videoing someone in an intimate act is already a crime."

Most legislators and several advocacy groups hailed the bill's passage Monday.

"Fortunately bipartisan support can send a message to bullies that it won't be tolerated in New Jersey. If you want to pick on someone go do it in another state," Assemblyman Jon Bramnick said.

The bill requires teachers to undergo suicide prevention courses and mandates school districts to have comprehensive policies on anti-bullying and harassment. It aims to protect young people by raising awareness of bullying, harassment and intimidation in schools and to prevent instances of abuse by ensuring schools take a hard line against such conduct.

"As someone brutally bullied in my own youth, I can't even begin to describe how the passage of this bill is a moment of deeply poignant, personal healing for me and thousands of others who have been bullied," said Steven Goldstein, chair of Garden State Equality, which worked with legislators on the bill.  "The best revenge is to make the world a kinder place.  This legislation will make our state a kinder, safer place for students for generations to come."

The bill requires school districts to form school safety teams and appoint anti-bullying coordinators. A Department of Education fund will be used to provide grants to offer training to school district employees.

Additionally, district policy will require responses to incidents of bullying that occur off school grounds, such as on a school bus or school-sponsored function. The legislation defines harassment, intimidation and bullying to include any harassing gesture, whether made verbally, physically or through electronic means.

The legislation departs from current norms by specifying that harm to students can be emotional as well as physical while declaring that "harassment, intimidation or bullying" could include incidents that foster a "hostile environment" at school.

Under the legislation, a school administrator is subject to discipline if he or she fails to conduct an investigation of a known incident of bullying, or if the administrator reasonably should have been aware of a problem and failed to take action. 

The bill's prime sponsors are Assembly members Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) and Mary Pat Angelini (R-Monmouth), and Senators Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), Diane Allen (R-Burlington) and Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen).  The sponsors include Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester), Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean (R-Union), Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) and Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris).

–John Celock contributed to this report.