ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 5345

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 20, 2025

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5345 (1R).

      As amended and reported, this bill requires merchant acquirers to use the merchant category code for firearms and ammunition businesses established by the International Organization for Standardization.

      The bill defines “firearms merchant” as a business physically located in this State for which the highest sales value is, or is expected to be, from the combined sale in this State of firearm accessories, or ammunition, as stated by the business to its merchant acquirer in the ordinary course of business.  Under the bill, the term “merchant acquirer” means an entity that establishes a relationship with a merchant for the purposes of processing credit, debit, or prepaid transactions.

      The bill authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action to enforce the provisions of the bill against any person that violates the provisions of the bill and who does not cure the violation.  A person determined by a court to have violated the provisions of the bill is subject to:

      (a) a civil penalty in the amount of $10,000 for each violation;

      (b) injunctive relief sufficient to prevent the person from further violations; and

      (c) reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in investigating and bringing an action pursuant to the bill.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

      (1)  omit the requirement that payment card networks make the merchant category code available for merchant acquirers that provide payment services for firearms merchants; and

      (2)  clarify that a “firearms merchant” means a business physically located in this State for which the highest sales value is, or is expected to be, from the combined sale in this State of firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition, as stated by the business to its merchant acquirer in the ordinary course of business.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that the bill will potentially result in increased annual costs to the Office of the Attorney General to the extent the office brings civil actions against individuals who violate the bill’s provisions and do not cure the violation.  The Judiciary will similarly incur workload increases to adjudicate the cases.  The OLS lacks the informational basis to reliably estimate how many of these violations will occur in a given fiscal year to arrive at a cost impact for the bill.

      The bill may also result in additional State revenue from civil penalty payments received from individuals found to have violated the bill’s provisions.  The OLS cannot quantify any revenue increase because of insufficient information on the number of cases that will be brought for alleged violations and the number of cases that will result in a penalty assessment.