Criminal Justice

This bill creates a new criminal offense for creating, sharing, or possessing digital content depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of children - including computer-generated or manipulated images that appear to show minors. It specifically targets items where a child (under 18) is identifiable by face, likeness, or distinguishing features, or where a person is manipulated to look like a minor ("purported child"). The law prohibits distributing such content via the internet or file-sharing programs, and makes possessing it with intent to share a crime. It directly affects individuals who produce, distribute, or share these materials online, regardless of whether the child is real or digitally altered.

This bill codifies New Jersey's Attorney General's "Strengthening Trust Between Law Enforcement and Immigrant Communities" directive into law. It directly affects all New Jersey state, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies and officers by prohibiting them from: (1) stopping or detaining people based solely on immigration status, (2) asking about immigration status except during specific criminal investigations, and (3) sharing personal information with federal immigration authorities for immigration enforcement purposes. The law clarifies that officers' primary duty is enforcing state criminal laws, not federal immigration law, and emphasizes that this does not prevent enforcing state criminal laws. The goal is to build trust in immigrant communities and ensure law enforcement resources focus on public safety rather than immigration enforcement.

New Jersey's S 3114, the "Law Enforcement Officer Protection Act," requires police officers and other law enforcement personnel to reveal their faces and show official identification before detaining or arresting someone during public interactions. Officers must wear non-concealing uniforms, display a photo ID card, show a numbered badge, or verbally state their name and agency. Exceptions include undercover work, medical masks (with physician approval), smoke protection during emergencies, or when safety or an investigation is at risk. The law applies to all state, county, and municipal officers and takes effect immediately.

This bill requires all New Jersey state agencies, counties, municipalities, school districts, and other local government entities to purchase at least 5% of their goods and services from the Central Nonprofit Agency (CNA), which supports rehabilitation facilities. It grants the CNA a "right of first refusal" for any goods/services typically bought through cooperative purchasing catalogs, provided they can match prices within 15% of fair market value. The bill also mandates that the Division of Purchase and Property create training protocols for all purchasing agents to ensure awareness of the CNA program, with annual reporting on compliance by all affected entities. These requirements apply to all state and local government bodies authorized to make purchases.