ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 6308

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY 5, 2026

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 6308.

     The bill requires the Attorney General to develop model policies on how certain locations interact with federal civil law enforcement to ensure that all people have access to hospitals, public schools, shelters, disaster and emergency response sites, funeral homes, courthouses, and places of worship.

     Under the bill, the Attorney General (AG) is required to consult with other government entities and stakeholders in developing model policies for sensitive locations.  These locations include health care facilities, public schools, domestic violence shelters, emergency shelters, family shelters, youth shelters, food pantries, funeral homes, harm reduction sites, disaster and emergency response sites, offices of social services, correctional facilities, and courthouses to ensure that eligible individuals are not deterred from seeking services or engaging with institutions.  The model policies would prohibit sensitive locations from assisting or participating in federal civil law enforcement, and would prohibit enforcement on entity premises at those locations.  The AG is required to publish the model policies on the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety (DLPS).  The bill requires the Commissioners of Community Affairs, Children and Families, Health, Human Services, Education, and Corrections, and Administrative Director of the Courts to adopt the model policies within 180 days of issuance by the AG’s office, or policies that provide greater protections, and to prominently display these policies at their respective institutions in an area open to the public. 

     The bill requires the AG to develop a model policy, in consultation with the State’s religious leaders, that a place of worship may adopt, to ensure that individuals are not deterred from entering the premises regardless of immigration status.  The model policy developed is required to be published on the DLPS Internet website.

     The committee recognizes that the intent of the bill is to build trust between the public and institutions so that all members of the community feel safe enough to participate in worship services attend school, appear in court, and seek necessary medical care, or shelter.