ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1407

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  OCTOBER 22, 2026

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 1407.

      As reported, this bill upgrades the criminal penalties for the promotion of prostitution to a crime of the second degree and imposes a mandatory minimum term of incarceration of one-third to one-half of the sentence imposed, or five years, whichever is greater, during which time the defendant would not be eligible for parole.  Under current law, all crimes under the umbrella of promotion of prostitution are crimes of the third degree, except the crimes of soliciting a person to patronize a prostitute and procuring a prostitute for a patron, which are crimes of the fourth degree.

      The bill also upgrades the criminal penalties for compelling another to engage in or promote prostitution and promoting prostitution of one’s spouse from crimes of the third degree to crimes of the second degree and imposes a mandatory minimum term of incarceration of one-third to one-half of the sentence imposed, or five years, whichever is greater, during which time the defendant would not be eligible for parole.

      The bill creates two new crimes, as follows: (1) leader of a prostitution network, which is to be a crime of the second degree; and (2) participant in a prostitution network, which is to be a crime of the third degree.  The bill provides that it is an affirmative defense to the crime of participant in a prostitution network that the defendant was a victim of human trafficking during the commission of the crime.

      A disorderly persons offense is ordinarily punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 6 months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.  A crime of the fourth degree is ordinarily punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.  A crime of the third degree is ordinarily punishable by a term of imprisonment of three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.  A crime of the second degree is ordinarily punishable by a term of imprisonment of five to 10 years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.

      Under the bill, crimes related to prostitution, with the exception of engaging in prostitution as a prostitute, would be ineligible for admission into the State’s Pretrial Intervention Program.
FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that this bill will result in an indeterminate annual increase in State expenditures and revenues.  The OLS lacks sufficient information to quantify the fiscal impact, as it is not possible to estimate the number of crimes likely to be prosecuted under the provisions of this bill.

      The bill upgrades certain crimes, establishes new crimes, imposes mandatory minimum terms of incarceration, and upgrades certain criminal penalties for prostitution-related crimes.  The following State and local agencies would incur caseload and expenditure increases: a) the Department of Law and Public Safety would provide guidance and other information related to the prosecution of the cases; b) county prosecutors would have to prosecute additional cases; c) the Judiciary would have to adjudicate additional complaints and monitor additional probationers; d) the Office of the Public Defender would have to represent additional low-income criminal defendants; e) the Department of Corrections would have to house and care for additional offenders; and f) the State Parole Board would have to supervise the return of society of additional offenders.