LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

SENATE, No. 3300

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

220th LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: FEBRUARY 7, 2023

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Requires Attorney General to perform outreach and provide services to victims of human trafficking under certain circumstances.

Type of Impact:

Potential annual State expenditure increase. 

Agencies Affected:

Department of Law and Public Safety.

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

Annual

 

Potential State Cost Increase

Indeterminate

 

 

 

 

·         The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that this legislation should not result in an increase in State expenditures as the bill requires the Attorney General to utilize the existing resources of the Department of Law and Public Safety to perform outreach in the community, deliver services to victims of human trafficking, award grants through a pilot program, and evaluate the benefits of the pilot program. Absent information from the Department of Law and Public Safety, however, the OLS cannot anticipate the resources the department would allocate or to what extent it may provide grants through a pilot program.

 

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

      This bill requires the Attorney General to utilize the existing resources of the Department of Law and Public Safety to perform outreach in the community and deliver services to victims of human trafficking in conjunction with other governmental entities.

      In addition, the bill authorizes the Attorney General to establish, within the limits of available funds, a pilot program to award grants to service providers to perform outreach and deliver services to victims of human trafficking in urban municipalities with the highest crime index in this State and in municipalities located near major maritime transportation hubs.

      The bill provides that upon completion, any pilot program is to be evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the pilot program, with a recommendation as to whether the pilot program should be continued, expanded, or made permanent.

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received.

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS concludes that this legislation should not result in an increase in State expenditures as the bill requires the Attorney General to utilize the existing resources of the Department of Law and Public Safety to perform outreach in the community, deliver services to victims of human trafficking, award grants through a pilot program, and evaluate the benefits of the pilot program.

      The OLS notes that the existing State of New Jersey Human Trafficking Task Force, affiliated with the Attorney General and the Division of Criminal Justice, may meet the requirements of the bill. The current goals of the Human Trafficking Task Force are to: 1) train and assist law enforcement in methods of identifying victims and signs of trafficking in order to disrupt and interdict this activity; 2) coordinate Statewide efforts in the identification and provision of services to victims of human trafficking; and 3) increase the successful interdiction and prosecution of trafficking of human persons.

      The bill requires the department to perform outreach in the community and deliver services to victims of human trafficking in conjunction with other governmental entities, such as the Victims of Crime Compensation Office, and other victims’ rights organizations, examples of which include the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking, the Covenant House of New Jersey in Newark, Catholic Charities, Center for Family Services, Inc., Sanar Wellness Institute, and Polaris.

      Absent information from the Department of Law and Public Safety, however, the OLS cannot anticipate the resources the department would allocate or to what extent it may provide grants through a pilot program.

 

      Human Trafficking Background - Human trafficking is the second-largest criminal industry in the world and is prevalent in every state in the United States. New Jersey is considered particularly vulnerable to the proliferation of human trafficking due to its dense population and location along the I-95 corridor. In 2020 alone, there were 146 reported cases to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in New Jersey. These numbers only reflect cases identified through the hotline and do not include cases identified by hospitals, law enforcement, social service agencies, and others who help survivors directly without reporting.

      During a 2022 Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee meeting, a representative from the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence indicated that women are the most likely to be sex trafficked, accounting for 94 percent of cases. Of those cases, 40 percent were Black, and 24 percent were Latina. During the same meeting, a representative from the Department of Law and Public Safety who works with a human trafficking task force out of the State Attorney General’s Office indicated that roughly 100 human trafficking cases had been prosecuted in New Jersey from 2017-2022.

 

Section:

Law and Public Safety

Analyst:

Kristin Brunner Santos

Lead Fiscal Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).