SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

ASSEMBLY, No. 1921

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 4, 2025

      The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 1921 ACS.

      As reported by the committee, this committee substitute concerns the Attorney General guidelines on bias incident investigation standards.

Under the committee substitute, the Attorney General is to maintain and periodically review the guidelines on bias incident investigation standards and revise the guidelines as needed.

     The committee substitute requires the guidelines to, at a minimum:

     1)    require county and municipal law enforcement agencies to report all confirmed or suspected bias incidents through the Electronic Uniform Crime Reporting system as soon as practicable, but not more than 24 hours after the initial law enforcement response;

     2)    require county and municipal law enforcement agencies to immediately notify the Attorney General and the county prosecutor when the suspected or confirmed bias incident involves certain circumstances, as determined by the Attorney General;

     3)    require county prosecutors to promptly notify the Attorney General when they intend to file an accusation or seek an indictment alleging bias intimidation;

     4)    set forth procedures for initial and follow-up investigations of a reported bias incident, including the responsibilities of an investigator or a supervisor upon the arrival at the scene;

     5)    establish criteria for law enforcement officers to apply in confirming a bias incident;

     6)    establish requirements for providing instant notification, through means that the Attorney General deems appropriate, to the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the Division of State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice, and the bias crime officers of each county prosecutor’s office;

     7)    ensure that a victim of a bias incident receives appropriate information and referral to the Division on Civil Rights when the incident involves a suspected or confirmed violation of the “Law Against Discrimination”; and

     8)    include provisions for training and continuing education for law enforcement officers on detecting and reporting bias incidents and investigating and prosecuting bias crimes.

     Finally, the committee substitute requires the Attorney General to ensure that the chief or director of every county and municipal law enforcement agency, every municipal and county prosecutor, and the Superintendent of State Police are provided with prompt notice of any revisions to the guidelines on bias incident investigation standards.

      As reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 1921 ACS is identical to Senate Bill No. 4803, which was also reported by the committee on this date.