Elevates impersonating public servant to crime of fourth degree in certain instances; establishes offense of exploiting authority implied by a public emergency.
New Jersey bill S 2395 elevates impersonating a public servant - specifically contact tracers during public health or state emergencies - to a fourth-degree crime, punishable by up to 18 months in prison or a $10,000 fine. It also creates a new offense for defrauding people by falsely claiming an emergency (even if none is declared) to obtain personal identifying information. The bill targets individuals exploiting crisis situations to coerce others into sharing sensitive data like Social Security numbers, biometrics, or financial details. It directly affects those impersonating officials or misusing emergency claims to steal personal information, strengthening penalties from prior disorderly persons offenses. The law defines "personal identifying information" broadly to include names, addresses, account numbers, and unique biometric data.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026
Last action Jan 13, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
1
Key actions
0
Committee
0
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Tony Bucco
RRepublican
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