Provides act of domestic violence or child endangerment committed during state of emergency may be classified one degree higher than underlying offense.

This New Jersey bill (S 1663) allows prosecutors to charge domestic violence or child endangerment offenses as one degree more serious during declared emergencies (national, state, or county). It directly affects cases where a criminal complaint is filed under existing laws for domestic violence (per N.J.S. 2C:25-19) or child endangerment (N.J.S. 2C:24-4) occurring while an emergency is active. The key mechanism gives prosecutors discretion to upgrade the classification of the underlying offense, not to create new crimes. This change would result in potentially harsher penalties for defendants convicted of these offenses during emergency periods.