ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5323

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 20, 2025

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 5323.

      This bill requires the Superintendent of State Police to inform local law enforcement in a municipality in which a person resides if that person had previously been convicted of a serious crime or had a firearms seized pursuant to a domestic violence restraining order or extreme risk protection order and attempts to purchases a firearm.  If the municipality in which the person resides does not have a municipal law enforcement agency, the superintendent would be required inform the appropriate commanding law enforcement officer with jurisdiction over the municipality.

      Current law provides that a person who is convicted of certain crimes is prohibited from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a firearm or ammunition.  Specifically, it is currently a crime of the second degree for a person to purchase, own, possess, or control a firearm or ammunition if that person has been convicted of certain serious crimes, including: aggravated assault; arson; burglary; escape; extortion; homicide; kidnapping; robbery; aggravated sexual assault; sexual assault; bias intimidation; endangering the welfare of a child; stalking; a crime involving domestic violence; certain crimes related to unlawful possession of weapons; certain crimes related to controlled dangerous substances; carjacking; gang criminality; racketeering; terroristic threats; and unlawful possession of a machine gun, handgun, or an assault firearm.  Current law also provides that a person, who has had firearms seized pursuant to a domestic violence restraining order or extreme risk protection order and attempts to purchase a firearm, is guilty of a crime of the third degree. 

      A crime of the second degree is punishable by a fine of up to $150,000, imprisonment for a term of between five and 10 years, or both.  A crime of the third degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000 or both.

      Under the bill, if a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reveals that a person convicted of one of these crimes attempts to purchase a firearm, the superintendent would notify a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over that person.