S 1289 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Requires AOC, in conjunction with State Parole Board, to conduct comprehensive study on Megan's Law.

This bill requires New Jersey's Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and State Parole Board to conduct a comprehensive study on Megan's Law implementation. The study will examine sex offender registration procedures, tier designation systems, community notification processes, and the effectiveness of the public Internet registry. It specifically reviews how county prosecutors and courts determine risk levels and notification requirements for all registered sex offenders since Megan's Law began. The AOC and Parole Board must submit findings and recommendations within 12 months, including whether a central agency should manage the law and standardize procedures. The bill replaces a previous study mandate that was never completed.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Jun 11, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill → Introduced · 3 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MINOR

This is a procedural transition from prefiled technical review status to formally introduced status. The substantive bill text is essentially unchanged, with only minor formatting and sentence restructuring. A new STATEMENT section was added explaining the bill's purpose: requiring the Administrative Office of the Courts and State Parole Board to conduct a comprehensive study on Megan's Law implementation, tier designations, community notification procedures, and the Internet registry.

TECHNICAL

A legislative STATEMENT section was added at the end of the bill explaining its purpose and context, noting that a prior study assigned to the Violence Institute at UMDNJ was never completed or made publicly available.

Minor sentence restructuring in section c: the reference to reporting to the Legislature pursuant to P.L.1991, c.164 was moved from mid-sentence to the end for clarity. No substantive policy change.

Status label changed from 'S1289 TR' (Technical Review) to 'S1289' and the status line changed from 'As reported by the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee with technical review' to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.'

Floor votes

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No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 11, 2026

Committee

Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors