SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE, Nos. 1270 and 2566

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JUNE 11, 2026

      The Senate Judiciary Committee reports favorably a Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill Nos. 1270 and 2566.

      The substitute bill eliminates the statute of limitations for the criminal prosecutions of human trafficking, and extends the statute of limitations under which a victim of human trafficking may bring a civil suit against the perpetrator.

      Currently, under the provisions of N.J.S.2C:1-6, there is no statute of limitations for prosecutions for the following crimes: murder; manslaughter; sexual assault; and criminal offenses arising from violations of certain environmental statutes concerning widespread injury or damage.  However, a prosecution for human trafficking must be commenced, by way of an indictment, within five years after the offense is committed.  Additionally, under this section of law, a civil suit brought by a victim must also be filed within five years.

      Under the bill, a criminal prosecution may be commenced at any time.  Also, under the bill, a civil suit may be filed within 10 years of the conduct, within 10 years of a victim turning 18 years of age if the victim is a minor, or within two years of a victim’s discovery of the injury, whichever is later.

      Under the bill, the civil statute of limitations will not begin to run until the continuing course of conduct related to the human trafficking of the plaintiff is terminated.  Furthermore, the statute of limitations may be suspended for any period of time during which the plaintiff is under a disability, which includes any intellectual disability, hospitalization for mental illness, or finding of mental incapacity.  Finally, the bill prohibits a defendant who coerced a plaintiff to delay filing suit by means of intimidation, duress, threats, or fraud from asserting a defense that the statute of limitations has already run.