SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1989

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 24, 2025

      The Senate Judiciary Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1989.

      This bill, as amended, would increase the criminal penalties for two types of actors who engage in human trafficking activities in violation of section 1 of P.L.2005, c.77 (C.2C:13-8):  (1) any participant in a trafficking scheme or course of conduct who benefits financially therefrom, even though not a higher-level “organizer, supervisor, financier, or manager” of such scheme or course of conduct, all of whom are currently subject to the statute’s increased penalties (further detailed below) when any of them “receive anything of value” for their role in a trafficking operation; and (2) anyone whose trafficking activities involve one or more children under 18 years of age in order to provide coerced labor or services.  The current law already applies increased penalties to any activities involving the sex trafficking of minors.

      Human trafficking is a crime of the first degree, which is ordinarily punishable by a term of imprisonment of 10 to 20 years, a fine of up to $200,000, or both.  However, the statute enhances the penalties for the aforementioned higher-level participants and anyone engaging in the sex trafficking of minors, and the bill would apply the same enhancement to all trafficking operation participants who benefit financially and any actors who traffic minors in order to provide coerced labor or services as follows:

      - a mandatory term of imprisonment of 20 years, during which the participant or other actor would not be eligible for parole, or a specific term between 20 years and life imprisonment, of which the actor must serve 20 years before being parole eligible; and

      - a mandatory fine of not less than $25,000, which would be deposited in the “Human Trafficking Survivor’s Assistance Fund” established by section 2 of P.L.2013, c.51 (C.52:17B-238).

      This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2024-2025 session pending technical review.  As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

      The committee amendments to the bill:

      - clarify that the bill would establish enhanced penalties for (1) any participant in a human trafficking scheme or course of conduct who benefits financially therefrom      , and (2) anyone who traffics minors in order to provide coerced labor or services; and

      - update the synopsis to more accurately summarize the bill’s provisions.