S 271 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Upgrades assault on victims who are elderly or disabled.

This bill amends New Jersey's assault law to create a new category of "aggravated assault" for attacks on specific professionals. It adds subsection (b)(5) to define aggravated assault when someone commits simple assault (as defined in subsection a) against: teachers, school staff, emergency medical personnel, firefighters, healthcare workers providing direct patient care, or other designated public safety or service workers while they are clearly performing their duties. The law increases penalties for these attacks by classifying them as aggravated assault rather than simple assault. The bill does not specifically target elderly or disabled victims, as the title incorrectly states; it focuses on protecting designated public service workers. The bill was introduced in the Senate on January 13, 2026, and referred to the Judiciary Committee.

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 · 5 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MODERATE

This bill amends New Jersey's assault statute (N.J.S.2C:12-1) by removing two categories of protected victims from the aggravated assault enhancement provision and eliminating enhanced sentencing rules for assaults on law enforcement officers that result in serious bodily injury. The bill also adds a statement section explaining its purpose of upgrading penalties for assaults against disabled or elderly persons, and changes a cross-reference to an older prior law.

SCOPE

Removed the protection for employees of stores and retail mercantile establishments (cashiers, salespersons, loss prevention, security, etc.) from the list of victims eligible for aggravated assault enhancement under paragraph (5) of subsection b. This means assaulting a retail worker no longer qualifies for the elevated offense level.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed enhanced sentencing provisions specific to assaults on law enforcement officers that result in serious bodily injury, including: the upgrade to a second-degree crime, the non-merger rule preventing the assault conviction from merging with other offenses, the exception allowing mandatory minimum incarceration to apply only when serious bodily injury results, and the ineligibility for supervisory treatment programs (pretrial intervention).

TECHNICAL

Changed the cross-reference at the end of the section from P.L.2025, c.39, s.3 to P.L.2021, c.352, pointing to an older prior law as the source of the provision.

Added a Statement section at the end of the bill explaining that it upgrades assault offenses against disabled or elderly persons, citing specific incidents including the assault of Joey Damiano (a man with an intellectual disability in Trenton) and assaults on elderly victims in Ewing and Lawrence.

Reduced co-sponsors from Senators Corrado, Stack, and Amato to Senator Corrado alone, and changed the bill status from 'As reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee with technical review' to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.'

Floor votes

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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 Judiciary Committee

upper

2 primary · 2 co-sponsors