ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4652

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 20, 2025

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4652.

      As reported, this bill creates the offense of inciting a public brawl and upgrades the penalty for engaging in disorderly conduct under certain circumstances.

     Under the bill, a person is guilty of inciting a public brawl if the person acts with purpose to organize or promote a group of four or more other persons to engage in a course of disorderly conduct. Inciting a public brawl is a crime of the fourth degree if the person acts with purpose to disrupt or cause a disturbance at a public gathering or event or knowing that a disruption or disturbance is likely to occur; otherwise, it is a disorderly persons offense.

     Additionally, the bill provides that a person who attempts to conceal or conceals the person’s identity while engaging in a course of disorderly conduct, with purpose to hinder prosecution or avoid apprehension, is guilty of a disorderly persons offense. The bill also establishes that a person commits disorderly conduct by acting with purpose to disrupt or cause a disturbance at a public gathering or event and is guilty of a disorderly persons offense.  Under current law, a person who engages in a course of disorderly conduct commits a petty disorderly persons offense.

     A fourth degree crime is punishable by up to 18 months imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. A person who commits a fourth degree crime may be eligible for entry into a pretrial intervention program (PTI). The courts sets the conditions of PTI, which may include random drug screening, community service, mental health or substance abuse evaluations, and compliance with treatment recommendations. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000 or both. A petty disorderly persons offense is punishable by imprisonment of up to 30 days, a fine of up to $500, or both. In the case of citations issued for petty disorderly and disorderly persons offenses, appearance in court is mandatory.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that establishing the crime of inciting a public brawl may result in an indeterminate annual increase in State and local expenditures and revenues. The OLS lacks sufficient information to quantify the fiscal impact, as it is not possible to estimate the number of crimes likely to be committed under the provisions of this bill.

      The OLS finds that the following State and local agencies may incur caseload and expenditure increases: a) county prosecutors may have to prosecute additional cases; b) the Judiciary may have to adjudicate additional complaints and monitor additional probationers; c) the Office of the Public Defender may have to represent additional low-income criminal defendants; d) the Department of Corrections may have to house and care for additional offenders; and e) the State Parole Board may have to supervise the return to society of additional offenders.

      The OLS notes that the State may receive indeterminate revenues from fines imposed on individuals convicted of these crimes; however, the State’s ability to collect fines has historically been limited.

      Annual local expenditures and revenues are likely to increase by an indeterminate amount from the establishment of the new disorderly persons offense.  Disorderly persons offenses are adjudicated in municipal courts and defendants are sentenced to county jails. Annual municipal revenue would likely increase due to an increase in court filing fees and upgraded penalties from these disorderly persons cases.