ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4331

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 26, 2020

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4331.

      This bill accelerates the implementation of certain provisions of P.L.2019, c.363, which made various changes to sentencing,  incarceration, and parole of juveniles adjudicated delinquent.  That law was enacted on January 20, 2020, but its provisions are not effective until November 1, 2020.  This bill makes several provisions of that law effective immediately due to adverse effects on these juveniles attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

      Several provisions of current law authorize or require the imposition of fines on juveniles adjudicated delinquent. P.L.2019, c.363 specifically eliminates the following fines: (1) those that can be imposed at the discretion of the court as a disposition for a juvenile adjudicated delinquent; (2) mandatory assessments imposed for certain controlled dangerous substance violations which are allocated to the Drug Enforcement and Demand Reduction (“DEDR”) Fund; and (3) mandatory assessments for convictions of violent crimes that are dedicated to purposes benefiting victims of crime.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.