SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 4758

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 8, 2025

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 4758.

      As reported, this bill increases the penalty for reckless vehicular homicide where the driver is intoxicated and the incident occurs within a highway construction zone or a designated safe corridor.

      Under current law, reckless vehicular homicide is ordinarily a crime of the second degree, which can be downgraded to a crime of the third degree if the driver proves that he or she was not driving recklessly except for failing to maintain a lane.  However, reckless vehicular homicide is upgraded to a crime of the first degree if the incident occurs in a school crossing or within 1,000 feet of school property, and where the driver was driving while intoxicated or refuses to submit to a sobriety test.

      Under the bill, reckless vehicular homicide also is upgraded to a crime of the first degree if the incident occurs within an identified “area of highway construction or repair” or a designated “safe corridor,” and where the driver was driving while intoxicated or refuses to submit to a sobriety test.

      N.J.S.A.39:4-203.5 defines an “area of highway construction or repair” as that segment of any highway which is identified by properly posted traffic control devices or signs as undergoing construction, reconstruction, repair, or maintenance operation, between the first traffic control device or sign informing motor vehicle operators of their approaching highway construction or repair and the last traffic control device or sign indicating all restrictions are removed and normal motor vehicle operations may resume.  Additionally, under N.J.S.A.39:4-203.5, a “safe corridor” is defined as a segment of highway under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation which, based upon accident rates, fatalities, traffic volume, and other highway traffic safety criteria, is identified by the Commissioner of Transportation as a segment warranting designation as a “safe corridor.”

      A crime of the first degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of 10 to 20 years, a fine of up to $200,000, or both.  A crime of the second degree is punishable by five to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.  A crime of the third degree is punishable by three to five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that this bill would result in annual indeterminate State and local expenditure increases.  The following State and local agencies would incur caseload and expenditure increases:  (1) the Department of Law and Public Safety would prosecute cases or provide guidance and other information to the county prosecutors; (2) county prosecutors would have to prosecute additional cases if the increased penalties create a reluctance on the part of the defendant to enter a guilty plea; (3) the Judiciary may have to adjudicate additional cases; (4) the Office of the Public Defender may have to represent additional low-income criminal defendants; and (5) the Department of Corrections may have to house more inmates for longer terms of imprisonment and the State Parole Board would have to supervise their return to society.

      The OLS does not have sufficient information on the potential increase in the number of convictions and terms of imprisonment resulting from the bill’s provisions and therefore is unable to estimate the costs to the State.  The OLS finds that to the extent that the bill will result in additional incarcerations, based on information provided by the Department of Corrections, the FY 2024 average annual cost for housing, ensuring security, and providing services to an incarcerated individual was $75,254, whereas the average daily cost was $11.39.

      The OLS notes the State may receive indeterminate revenue from increased fines imposed on individuals convicted of the upgraded crime under this bill.  However, the State’s ability to collect criminal fines and penalties has historically been limited.