This bill (A 2178) amends New Jersey's Commission on Human Trafficking to specifically require the commission to study human trafficking affecting women and children of color. The commission must identify risk factors making these groups vulnerable, develop prevention strategies, and recommend ways to improve support services for victims. The commission will continue its existing duties - like evaluating laws, reviewing victim programs, and promoting public awareness - but now with a focused mandate on racial disparities in trafficking. It will report annually to the Governor and Legislature on its findings and legislative recommendations related to this specific population.
Bill A 2338 required public transportation employees, motorbus operators, hotel/motel staff, healthcare facility workers, and judicial personnel to complete one-time training on recognizing human trafficking signs and responding appropriately. The training, mandated as a condition for license renewals or employment, must include specific content about victim signals observed in public spaces and be reviewed biennially. It applied directly to licensed entities like hotels, healthcare facilities, and transit operators, with enforcement handled by the Department of Community Affairs and Department of Health. The bill was withdrawn on January 13, 2026, after being approved as P.L.2025, c.343.
This bill (A 1171) expands when juveniles can be transferred to adult court by adding terrorism and human trafficking to the list of offenses eligible for waiver "regardless of age." It directly affects minors accused of these specific crimes, removing the prior age requirement (previously 15+ for most serious offenses) for these charges. The law requires courts to weigh factors like the juvenile's maturity, victim input, and prior history before transferring cases, while mandating that transferred juveniles serve custodial sentences in juvenile facilities until age 21. This changes the legal pathway for prosecuting youth in terrorism/human trafficking cases under New Jersey law.
Weston's Law extends New Jersey's human trafficking statute to include recruiting or coercing a juvenile to join a gang or drug trafficking scheme. This change allows prosecutors to seek waiver of juvenile jurisdiction for such cases, meaning the court may refer the case to adult court without the juvenile's consent if the juvenile was 15 or older and the act would constitute a serious crime if committed by an adult. The bill updates the juvenile waiver process to explicitly list human trafficking as a qualifying offense alongside crimes like murder, robbery, and drug trafficking. The court must consider factors such as the juvenile's age, maturity, and prior record before deciding to waive jurisdiction.
ACR 112 is a concurrent resolution directing New Jersey's State Commission of Investigation (SCI) to examine human trafficking activity at massage and bodywork therapy businesses. The SCI must investigate these locations - where employers are registered and therapists are licensed under state law - and submit a report with findings and recommendations within two years. The report may be delayed up to 120 days if the Attorney General objects to information suggesting potential trafficking or criminal activity. This resolution does not change existing laws but mandates an investigation to address concerns highlighted in a 2018 Polaris Project report about trafficking in such businesses.
This bill removes the time limit for prosecuting human trafficking crimes in New Jersey. It specifically eliminates the current 5-year statute of limitations for offenses listed under N.J.S.2C:11-3 (human trafficking) and similar statutes. As a result, prosecutors can bring charges for these crimes at any time, regardless of when the trafficking occurred. This directly affects human trafficking victims by enabling legal action even years after the crime, and it shifts the burden to prosecutors to pursue cases without time constraints. The change applies immediately to all unbarred human trafficking cases.
This bill appropriates $75,000 from the General Fund to the Human Trafficking Survivor’s Assistance Fund, administered by the Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice. The funds must be used to provide direct services to trafficking survivors, promote awareness of human trafficking, and develop educational materials and training programs - consistent with existing law (P.L. 2013, c. 51). The fund is non-lapsing, meaning the money remains available until spent for these specific purposes. This supplemental appropriation directly supports victims and programs addressing human trafficking in New Jersey.
This bill (A 296) increases penalties for human trafficking involving children under 18 in New Jersey. It expands the definition of human trafficking to cover all forms of child exploitation (both sexual and labor), not just sexual activity. Offenders face mandatory life imprisonment without parole, a $25,000 fine (funded to a victim assistance program), and restitution based on the victim’s labor value. The law directly affects individuals convicted of trafficking children, replacing current penalties that allowed parole eligibility after 20 years. This change applies to all child trafficking offenses, regardless of whether the perpetrator mistakenly believed the child was 18 or older.
This bill expands New Jersey's human trafficking law to include individuals who profit financially from trafficking schemes, even if they aren't organizers, supervisors, financiers, or managers. It directly affects people who receive money or other benefits from trafficking activities, such as business owners who exploit victims or third parties facilitating exploitation. The key change adds a new subsection defining human trafficking to cover "receiving anything of value" from trafficking, while maintaining a 20-year minimum prison term and requiring restitution to victims based on their labor value. This makes it a crime to profit from trafficking without needing to prove a formal leadership role in the scheme.
This bill (A 3404) amends New Jersey's "Earn Your Way Out Act" to expand who is ineligible for administrative parole release - without a hearing - when first eligible. It specifically blocks inmates with prior convictions for any serious offense (indictable offense) and those currently serving sentences for certain crimes, including vehicular homicide, human trafficking, sexual extortion, and stalking. The bill broadens existing exclusions beyond current law (which already blocked some offenses under NERA and Megan's Law) by adding new categories of crimes to the list. This proposed change would affect inmates who meet these criteria, preventing them from automatic parole under the current process. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
