The only state legislator to vote against Monday's successful bullying prevention legislation said he did so because the bill did not go far enough.

Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris County) said the bill did not cover all cases of bullying, specifically those targeted for being a "nerd or bookish" and potentially exposed property taxpayers to increased liabilities. The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights passed the Assembly 71-1 and the Senate 30-0 during voting sessions on Monday.

"If I am the victim of a bully I do not see a single right," Carroll said in an interview with Patch. "There is nothing in there that helps a victim. "

Advocates and legislators had been working on the bill for about a year, but it gained heightened 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. 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.

Carroll said the bill, sponsored by legislators in both parties, including Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), only covers bullying in specific discrimination cases, including ethnic, racial and sexual discrimination.

"If you are harassed based on being bookish or nerdish you are not covered," he 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.

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.

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

Carroll said the provisions in the bill did not go far enough for school employees, who he said should be fired if they know of bullying. He said the bill would allow the school district to be sued, which he said would cause higher tax bills for residents.

While the bill has been one of the most popular to be passed recently by a Legislature plagued by partisan bickering over gubernatorial appointments and property tax reforms, Carroll said the decision to fast track the bill in the wake of Clementi's suicide was not the right move.

"We in the legislature have a habit when there is a tragedy to decide to do something. When there may be a law?" Carroll said. "Videoing someone in an intimate act is already a crime."

Carroll said he does not think the new bill would have covered Clementi since most of the language only talked about elementary and secondary schools and not colleges.

Carroll said he raised his objections to Republican collegues during a GOP caucus meeting on Monday morning, but saw he was being blocked by other legislators, who he said were prepared to vote for the bill. In an interview with Patch, he said he raised his concerns that nerds and bookish students were not covered by the bill. He said one of the GOP sponsors of the bill questioned him on how a nerd could be defined.

"People in high school have no difficulty describing that," Carroll said.

While Carroll opposed the bill, which now heads for Gov. Chris Christie's desk, advocates and supportive legislators are cheering the bill's passage. The bill was endorsed on Friday by bullying prevention advocate John Halligan during a speech at Roosevelt Intermediate School. Halligan, who helped write Vermont's bullying prevention law, started touring the country speaking on the issue after his son, Ryan Halligan, committed suicide in 2003 after being bullied in middle school.

"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," said Assembly Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield).