This bill extends New Jersey's anti-SLAPP protections (legal safeguards against lawsuits meant to silence people) to individuals who report sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination under state law. It ensures that people making good-faith complaints about these issues cannot be sued for reporting them, requiring courts to pause such cases and potentially dismiss them if the lawsuit lacks merit. The law also allows complainants who successfully defend against these lawsuits to recover legal fees and costs. It directly affects anyone filing reports under New Jersey’s sexual offense laws (N.J.S.2C:24-4) or anti-discrimination statutes (N.J.S.10:5-1 et seq.).
This bill (S 2642) updates New Jersey's aggravated assault statute to align the definition of "health care professional" with the definition in the "Health Care Heroes Violence Prevention Act." It specifically expands the protected group to include health care workers employed at licensed facilities, licensed health care professionals (under Titles 26 or 45), volunteers, supportive services staff, and employees performing direct patient care duties. The change ensures these individuals are explicitly covered under the aggravated assault provisions when they are clearly identifiable while performing their duties. The bill is procedural, focusing solely on defining who qualifies for enhanced legal protections during work.
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.
This bill (S 1937) upgrades simple assault to aggravated assault when committed against a registered security officer who is clearly identifiable while performing their duties. It directly affects security officers working in New Jersey who are registered under the Security Officer Registration Act. The key provision adds security officers to the list of protected individuals (under subsection 2C:12-1(b)(5)(l)), meaning assaulting them in an identifiable work capacity would now be charged as a more serious aggravated assault rather than a lesser simple assault. This change increases penalties for attacks targeting security personnel specifically during their work.
This bill (S 2322) would upgrade simple assaults against youth sports officials to aggravated assault under New Jersey law. It directly affects referees, umpires, coaches, athletic trainers, and other officials at school- or community-sponsored youth sports events. The key provision adds these officials to the list of protected individuals in the aggravated assault statute (N.J.S.2C:12-1(l)), requiring the perpetrator to knowingly or recklessly cause bodily injury while the official is clearly identifiable in their role. This change increases penalties for assaults targeting these volunteers and paid staff during youth sports activities.
This bill would create a publicly accessible online registry of individuals convicted of domestic violence offenses in New Jersey, separate from existing records. It requires courts to mandate counseling (6 months to 2 years depending on offense history), community service (minimum 1 year), and increased fines ($500 to $5,000 per offense) for convicted offenders. The registry would include personal details like name, physical description, vehicle info, and address, with removal options after 2-20 years based on offense count (excluding severe cases like homicide or sexual assault). The bill is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee as of January 2026.
This bill amends New Jersey's assault law (N.J.S.2C:12-1) to expand protections for emergency medical personnel. It adds "any person engaged in emergency first-aid or medical services" to the list of protected individuals under aggravated assault charges (subsection b(5)(c)). The change makes it a more serious offense to assault someone providing emergency medical care while they are clearly performing their duties. This applies specifically to responders like EMTs or paramedics, not to disabled victims as the title incorrectly states. The bill is currently in the early legislative stage (introduced January 13, 2026).
S 1109 requires all New Jersey judges and court staff to complete a minimum of three hours of annual training on handling domestic violence and sexual assault cases. At least 1.5 hours must cover sexual violence topics like survivor impact, risk factors, and legal standards. This applies to judges at all levels - including municipal courts - which previously had no minimum training requirement. The bill mandates training content on case procedures, protection orders, community resources, and dynamics of both domestic violence and sexual offenses. It amends existing law to establish these specific requirements, ensuring consistent education for judicial personnel statewide.
This bill (S 1479) prohibits New Jersey public and private colleges (excluding law schools) from asking applicants about criminal history - including juvenile records - on admission applications. It creates a "Universal College Application Development Task Force" to design a standard application that excludes such questions, which all institutions must adopt. Exceptions allow institutions to ask about specific serious crimes (e.g., sexual assault, terrorism, or child exploitation) for admission decisions. Colleges may later inquire about criminal history for campus housing or activities, but must consider factors like time passed since the offense and rehabilitation.
This New Jersey bill (S 503) amends murder statutes to clarify that a victim's death during a stalking incident may be classified as murder under specific circumstances. It adds stalking to the list of crimes (under N.J.S.2C:11-3a(3)) where a death occurring during the crime constitutes murder, and designates stalking as an aggravating factor in sentencing (under N.J.S.2C:11-3a(4)(l)). The law directly affects stalking victims whose deaths occur during stalking incidents and defendants convicted of stalking-related homicides. It creates a legal pathway for prosecutors to charge such deaths as murder and allows courts to impose harsher sentences when stalking was involved. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
