SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE, Nos. 4043 and 3016
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JUNE 11, 2026
The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably a Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill Nos. 4043 and 3016.
This committee substitute expands the criminal history record background check requirement for current or prospective employees, volunteers, and organizers of youth serving organizations. The committee substitute defines “youth serving organization” as a sports team, league, athletic association, any person or organization that provides private athletic lessons, or any other corporation, private or non-profit association or other organization that provides recreational, cultural, charitable, social or other activities or services for persons under 18 years of age. The term “youth serving organization” does not include public and nonpublic schools and licensed youth camps.
Under current law, a nonprofit youth serving organization may request, through the Department of Law and Public Safety, that the State Bureau of Identification (SBI) in the Division of State Police conduct a criminal history record background check on a prospective or current employee or volunteer of an organization.
This committee substitute expands current law to require these youth serving organizations to conduct criminal history record background checks and also requires for-profit youth servicing entities to conduct these checks. Additionally, each employee, volunteer, or organizer of a youth serving organization would be required to have a criminal history record background check conducted yearly. An employee, volunteer, or organizer who has received a criminal history record background check or its equivalent, including background checks utilized by national and international athletic associations dedicated to youth sports, would not be required to obtain an additional background check during the same calendar year that the person is employed or volunteers with a youth serving organization. The committee substitute authorizes the Attorney General to report the results of the criminal history background check to the youth serving organization.
The committee substitute also establishes civil penalties for youth serving organizations that fail to request a criminal history background check. Additionally, a youth serving organization that fails to request a criminal history record background check would be subject to a civil penalty for each offense of up to $500 for a first offense, up to $750 for a second offense, and up to $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense.
The committee substitute provides that an employee, volunteer, or organizer who participates in youth serving organization with the knowledge that the employee, volunteer, or organizer is disqualified from participating in the organization based on criminal history would be guilty of a fourth degree crime. In addition, it would be a crime of the fourth degree for an organizer, coach, or any other person working in association with a youth serving organization to disregard results of a criminal history background check or fail to obtain a criminal history background check knowing that an employee, volunteer, or organizer of the organization is disqualified from participating in the organization. A crime of the fourth degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment for not more than 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
The provisions of the committee substitute do not apply to a county or municipal government that has adopted an ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, or personnel policy requiring annual criminal history record background checks of all employees, volunteers, and organizers who have contact with persons under 18 years of age through recreation, park, cultural, social, or athletic activities sponsored, operated, or administered by the county or municipality.
Within three years, the committee substitute requires the Attorney General to perform an audit of information obtained from conducting criminal history record background checks with regard to youth serving organizations no later than three years following enactment. The results of the audit are to be reported to the Governor and Legislature no later than six months following the commencement of the audit.