LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

SENATE, No. 2050

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: NOVEMBER 26, 2025

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

"Stephanie's Law"; Requires AOC to establish publicly-accessible domestic violence registry; requires law enforcement officer to search State's domestic violence registries when conducting arrest.

Type of Impact:

Annual State expenditure increase.

Agencies Affected:

The Judiciary; Department of Law and Public Safety; Motor Vehicle Commission.

 

 

 

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

 

Annual 

 

 

State Expenditure Increase

 

Indeterminate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·         The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that this bill will result in an indeterminate annual State expenditure increase to develop, implement, and maintain a publicly-accessible domestic violence Internet registry. The OLS notes this registry would be separate from the domestic violence central registry currently maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts.

·         The Judiciary estimates a minimum of $1.5 million in information technology (IT) related expenses to develop, test, and establish the Internet registry in the first year of implementation, as well as IT maintenance costs of $500,000 in the second year of implementation and $200,000 in each year thereafter. The Judiciary did not provide a breakdown of these costs. The OLS does not have sufficient information to confirm nor refute these estimates.

 

·         The Judiciary anticipates a substantial increase in administrative costs and staff time to review and gather required information for the registry, process petitions requesting removal of a name from the registry, and conduct court hearings on these petitions. The OLS generally agrees with this assessment.

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

      This bill establishes Stephanie’s Law. The bill is named after a domestic violence victim, Stephanie Nicole Parze, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.  The bill is intended to provide additional support and protections for victims of domestic violence, and the public at large, by establishing a publicly-accessible domestic violence Internet registry containing information on persons: (1) convicted of a domestic violence crime or offense; (2) with a final domestic violence restraining order issued against them; or (3) who committed contempt of a temporary or final domestic violence restraining order. 

      The bill would require the Administrative Office of the Courts, in conjunction with the Attorney General, to develop and maintain the publicly-accessible domestic violence Internet registry. This registry would be separate from the domestic violence central registry maintained by the administrative office pursuant to P.L.1999, c.421, which is not accessible to the public. 

      A person whose name is erroneously included in the registry established under the bill may petition the administrative office for removal of the person’s name. 

      Finally, the provisions of the bill would require a law enforcement officer to determine, upon conducting an arrest of a person, if there is a domestic violence restraining order entered against the person. 

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received.

 

JUDICIAL BRANCH

 

      No formal fiscal note received. However, the Judiciary provided overall cost estimates, statistical and other information relating to the bill’s fiscal impact. The Judiciary did not provide a detailed breakout of the estimated costs.

      Overall, the Administrative Office of the Courts notes that although a full estimate of the bill’s fiscal impact is not feasible, the Judiciary affirms it will incur a substantial increase in expenditures to develop, implement and maintain a publicly accessible domestic violence Internet registry as specified by the bill.

      The Judiciary anticipates incurring expenditures to:

· develop, implement, and maintain the Internet registry;

· gather the specific information the bill requires to be made available on the registry;

· photograph individuals being placed on the registry; and

· receive and process petitions for removal of a name erroneously entered in the registry.

     

      The table below summarizes the Judiciary’s estimate of the bill’s information technology-related expenditures in the first year of implementation, the second year of implementation, and the subsequent years.

 

      The Judiciary projects a minimum of $1.5 million in IT-related expenditures to develop, test and implement the new internet registry. This estimate presumes that the Administrative Office of the Courts is able to access and retrieve necessary data from other State agency web services, such as the Motor Vehicle Commission and the State Police. Without that integration, the Judiciary projects that actual costs would be substantially higher. Further, the Judiciary projects that annual system maintenance to ensure, for example, the registry is running properly, backed up, and security is maintained is projected to be $500,000 in the second year of implementation and $200,000 in each subsequent year.

      The Judiciary anticipates the bill will have a significant impact on staff time and resources to gather the required information for the registry. For instance, recognizing that each individual that would be initially included on the registry has already been convicted of a crime or offense involving domestic violence, had a final domestic violence restraining order issued against them, or committed contempt of a temporary or final domestic violence restraining order, the Judiciary will need to have staff go through each individual case to identify what specific information is missing and then take action to obtain and verify the accuracy of that missing information.

      The Judiciary notes that staff will need to review and gather information from at least 15,000 cases and anticipates that it will incur significant expenditure increases to do so.

      The Judiciary further indicates that trial court hearings on each petition to remove information from the Internet registry will require judge time, staff time and resources. The Judiciary is unable to estimate with any certainty the number of petitions for removal that may be filed.

     

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

     

      The OLS finds that this bill will result in an indeterminate annual State expenditure increase to develop, implement, and maintain a publicly-accessible domestic violence Internet registry. The OLS notes this registry would be separate from the domestic violence central registry currently maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts. The central registry is not publicly accessible.

      As noted above, the Judiciary estimates a minimum of $1.5 million in IT-related expenses to develop, test, and establish the Internet registry in the first year of implementation, as well as IT maintenance costs of $500,000 in the second year of implementation and $200,000 in each year thereafter. The Judiciary did not provide a breakdown of these costs. The OLS does not have sufficient information to confirm nor refute these estimates.

      In response to an FY 2026 OLS Discussion Point, the Judiciary noted that 33,280 temporary restraining orders were granted in 2022, out of which 4,809 were then granted a final restraining order. Per the bill, all individuals served with a final restraining order (as well as those who have been convicted of a domestic violence crime or offense or who have committed contempt of a temporary or final domestic violence restraining order) are required to be on the registry.

      The Judiciary anticipates a substantial increase in administrative costs and staff time to review and gather required information from at least 15,000 cases for the registry, process petitions requesting removal of a name from the registry, and conduct court hearings on these petitions. The OLS generally agrees with this assessment.

Section:

Judiciary

Analyst:

Anuja Pande Joshi

Senior Fiscal Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

 

 

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).