SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 2503

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 21, 2021

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 2503.

      As reported by the committee, this bill upgrades strangulation assault to a second degree crime.

Under current law, strangulation is a third degree crime, punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.  This bill elevates strangulation, committed in the domestic violence context against a victim of domestic violence, to a second degree crime, punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. 

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates that this bill would generate indeterminate additional costs for the Department of Corrections (DOC).  Under the provisions of the bill, this crime would be upgraded to a second degree crime, making the sentence longer by up to five years.  The OLS does not have sufficient information to quantify the impact.

      The State may also receive indeterminate revenue from additional fines and penalties imposed on individuals convicted of the upgraded crime; however, the State’s ability to collect criminal fines and penalties has historically been limited.