S 2024

SENATE, No. 2024
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator VINCENT J. POLISTINA
District 2 (Atlantic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Holzapfel and Bramnick
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires temporary detention and notification to
parent or guardian of underage person who unlawfully purchases or possesses
alcoholic beverages or cannabis.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act concerning enforcement of minors� alcohol and cannabis use
under certain circumstances and amending P.L.1979, c.264 and P.L.1991,
c.169.�
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� Section 1 of P.L.1979, c.264 (2C:33-15) is
amended to read as follows:�
���� 1.��� a.� (1)� Any person
under the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages, or under the legal age to
purchase cannabis items, who knowingly possesses without legal authority or who
knowingly consumes any alcoholic beverage, cannabis item, marijuana, or hashish
in any school, public conveyance, public place, or place of public assembly, or
motor vehicle shall be subject to the following consequences:
���� (a)�� for a first violation, a
written warning issued by a law enforcement officer to the underage person and,
if the underage person is under 18 years of age, the law enforcement officer
shall transport the person into temporary custody and notify the parent,
guardian, or other person having legal custody of the underage person that the
underage person has been taken into temporary custody in accordance with
section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a).�
���� The written warning shall
include the person's name, address, and date of birth, and a copy of the
warning containing this information, plus a sworn statement that includes a
description of the relevant facts and circumstances that support the officer's determination
that the person committed the violation, shall be temporarily maintained in
accordance with this section only for the purposes of determining a second or
subsequent violation subject to the consequences set forth in subparagraph (b)
or (c) of this paragraph. If the violation of this section is by a person under
18 years of age, a written notification concerning the violation shall be
provided to the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the
underage person in accordance with section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a).
���� (b)�� for a second violation,
a written warning issued by a law enforcement officer to the underage person
indicating that a second violation has occurred, which includes the person's
name, address, and date of birth. If the violation is by a person 18 years of
age or older, the officer shall provide the person with informational materials
about how to access community services provided by public or private agencies
and organizations that shall assist the person with opportunities to access
further social services, including, but not limited to, counseling, tutoring
programs, mentoring services, and faith-based or other community initiatives.
If the violation is by a person under 18 years of age, the law enforcement
officer shall transport the person into temporary custody and notify the
parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of the underage person
that the underage person has been taken into temporary custody in accordance
with section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a).� The officer also shall provide
to the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of the underage
person a written notification concerning the second violation shall be
provided to the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the
underage person in accordance with section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a).
The written notification shall include the same or similar informational
materials about how to access community services provided by public or private
agencies and organizations as those provided directly by a law enforcement
officer to a person 18 years of age or older who commits a second violation of
this paragraph. A copy of the second written warning to the underage person,
and, if applicable, the written notification to the parent, guardian or other
person having legal custody of the underage person concerning the second
warning, plus a sworn statement that includes a description of the relevant
facts and circumstances that support the officer's determination that the
person committed the second violation, shall be temporarily maintained in
accordance with this section only for the purposes of determining a subsequent
violation subject to the consequences set forth in subparagraph (c) of this
paragraph.
���� (c)�� for a third or
subsequent violation, a write-up issued by a law enforcement officer to the
underage person indicating that a third or subsequent violation has occurred,
which includes the person's name, address, and date of birth.
���� If the violation is by a
person 18 years of age or older, the officer shall include with the write-up a
referral for accessing community services provided by a public or private
agency or organization, and provide notice to that agency or organization of
the referral which may also be used to initiate contact with the person, and
the agency or organization shall offer assistance to the person with
opportunities to access further social services, including but not limited to
counseling, tutoring programs, mentoring services, and faith-based or other
community initiatives.
���� If the violation is by a
person under 18 years of age, [a] , the law
enforcement officer shall transport the person into temporary custody and
notify the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of the
underage person that the underage person has been taken into temporary custody
in accordance with section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a).� The officer
also shall provide to the parent, guardian, or other person having legal
custody of the underage person written notification concerning the third or
subsequent violation [shall
be provided to the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the
underage person]
in accordance with section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a).� The written
notification shall include a referral for the person and the parent, guardian
or other person having legal custody of the underage person for accessing
community services provided by a public or private agency or organization, and
provide notice to that agency or organization of the referral which may also
then be used to initiate contact with both persons, and the agency or
organization shall offer assistance to both with opportunities to access
further social services, including counseling, tutoring programs, mentoring
services, and faith-based or other community initiatives. A copy of a write-up
for a third or subsequent violation, the written notification to the parent,
guardian or other person having legal custody of the underage person, if
applicable, and accompanying referrals, plus a sworn statement that includes a
description of the relevant facts and circumstances that support the officer's
determination that the person committed the third or subsequent violation,
shall be temporarily maintained in accordance with this section only to the
extent necessary to track referrals to agencies and organizations, as well as
for the purposes of determining a subsequent violation subject to the
consequences set forth in this subparagraph.
���� The failure of a person under
the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages or cannabis items, or the failure
of a parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the underage
person, to accept assistance from an agency or organization to which a law
enforcement referral was made, or to access any community services provided by
that agency or organization shall not result in any summons, initiation of a
complaint, or other legal action to be adjudicated and enforced in any court.
���� (2)� (a)� A person under the
legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages or cannabis items is not capable of
giving lawful consent to a search to determine a violation of this section, and
a law enforcement officer shall not request that a person consent to a search
for that purpose.
���� (b)�� The odor of an alcoholic
beverage, marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item, or burnt marijuana,
hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item, shall not constitute reasonable
articulable suspicion to initiate an investigatory stop of a person, nor shall
it constitute probable cause to initiate a search of a person or that person's
personal property to determine a violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection.
Additionally, the unconcealed possession of an alcoholic beverage, marijuana,
hashish, or cannabis item in violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection,
observed in plain sight by a law enforcement officer, shall not constitute
probable cause to initiate a search of a person or that person's personal
property to determine any further violation of that paragraph or any other
violation of law.
���� (3)�� A person under the legal
age to purchase alcoholic beverages or cannabis items who violates paragraph
(1) of this subsection for possessing or consuming an alcoholic beverage,
marijuana, hashish, or a cannabis item shall not be subject to arrest, shall not
be transported to a police station, police headquarters, or other place of law
enforcement operations, and shall not otherwise be subject to detention or be
taken into custody by a law enforcement officer at or near the location where
the violation occurred, except to the extent that detention or custody at or
near the location is required to issue a written warning or write-up, collect
the information necessary to provide notice of a violation to a parent,
guardian or other person having legal custody of the underage person in
accordance with section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81a), or make referrals
for accessing community services provided by a public or private agency or
organization due to a third or subsequent violation, unless the person is being
arrested, detained, or otherwise taken into custody for also committing another
violation of law for which that action is legally permitted or required.
���� (4)�� Consistent with the
provisions of subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.2020, c.129 (C.40A:14-118.5),
the video and audio recording functions of a law enforcement officer's body
worn camera, as defined in that section, shall be activated whenever the law
enforcement officer is responding to a call for service related to a violation
or suspected violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection for possessing or
consuming an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, or a cannabis item, or at
the initiation of any other law enforcement or investigative encounter between
an officer and a person related to a violation or suspected violation of that
paragraph, and shall remain activated until the encounter has fully concluded
and the officer leaves the scene of the encounter; provided, however, that the
video and audio recording functions of a body worn camera shall not be
deactivated pursuant to subparagraph (a) of paragraph (2) of subsection c. of
P.L.2020, c.129 (C.40A:14-118.5), based on a request to deactivate the camera
by a person who is the subject of a responsive call for service or law
enforcement or investigative encounter related to a violation or suspected
violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection.
���� (5)��� As part of the process
for the issuance of a written warning or write-up to a person for a violation
of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the law enforcement officer shall take
possession of any alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item from
the person, and any drug or cannabis paraphernalia for use with any marijuana,
hashish, or cannabis item. The existence and description of the alcoholic
beverage, marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item, and any drug or cannabis
paraphernalia shall be included in the sworn statement that includes a
description of the relevant facts and circumstances that support the officer's
determination that the person committed a violation, and which record is
temporarily maintained in accordance with this section to determine subsequent
possession or consumption violations, and track referrals for accessing
community services provided by a public or private agency or organization due
to a third or subsequent violation.
���� Any alcoholic beverage, marijuana,
hashish, cannabis item, or drug or cannabis paraphernalia [obtained] discovered
as a result of a violation of this section shall be seized by the law
enforcement officer [shall
either be]
and destroyed or secured for use in law enforcement training or
educational programs in accordance with applicable law and directives issued by
the Attorney General.
���� (6)�� With respect to any
violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection concerning the possession or
consumption of an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, or any cannabis item:
���� (a)�� a person under the legal
age to purchase alcoholic beverages or cannabis items shall not be photographed
or fingerprinted, notwithstanding any provisions of section 2 of P.L.1982, c.79
(C.2A:4A-61) to the contrary;
���� (b) (i) any copy of any
written warning or write-up issued to a person under the legal age to purchase
alcoholic beverages or cannabis items, written notification provided to the
person's parent, guardian or other person having legal custody in accordance
with section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a), sworn statement describing
the relevant facts and circumstances that support an officer's determination
that a person committed a violation, or referrals for accessing community
services provided by a public or private agency or organization pertaining to a
third or subsequent violation shall be segregated and maintained in a separate
physical location or electronic repository or database from any other records
maintained by a law enforcement agency, and reported to the Attorney General in
a manner so that they are similarly segregated and maintained in a separate
physical location or electronic repository or database from other law
enforcement records accessible to the Attorney General and State and local law
enforcement agencies, and shall not be transferred to or copied and placed in
any other physical location or electronic repository or database containing any
other law enforcement records. These records shall only be used to the extent
necessary to determine a subsequent violation of paragraph (1) of this
subsection or to track referrals to agencies and organizations, and shall not
be revealed, reviewed, or considered in any manner with respect to any current
or subsequent juvenile delinquency matter, including but not limited to, a
charge, filing, eligibility or decision for diversion or discharge, or
sentencing, other disposition, or related decision affecting the juvenile, or
with respect to any current or subsequent prosecution for committing an offense
or other violation of law, including but not limited to, a charge, filing,
eligibility or decision for diversion or discharge, or sentencing, other
disposition, or related decision affecting an adult under 21 years of age.
Also, these records shall be deemed confidential and shall not be subject to
public inspection or copying pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73
(C.47:1A-1 et seq.), and their existence shall not be acknowledged based upon
any inquiry in the same manner as if the records were expunged records pursuant
to the provisions of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:52-15.
���� The Attorney General may use
the records described herein to generate the number of occurrences and other
statistics concerning first, second, third and subsequent violations of
paragraph (1) of this subsection, the municipal, county or other geographic areas
within which first, second, third and subsequent violations occur, and the law
enforcement agencies involved in first, second, third and subsequent
violations, which are to be compiled and made available by the Attorney General
in accordance with section 4 of P.L.2021, c.25 (C.2C:33-15.1). The identity of
any person named in a record shall not be revealed or included in the
information to be compiled and made available in accordance with that section.
���� The records of violations
shall only be maintained temporarily and shall be destroyed or permanently
deleted as set forth in subparagraph (c) of this paragraph.
���� (ii)�� any records pertaining
to a person's acceptance of assistance from an agency or organization to which
a law enforcement referral was made shall not be revealed, reviewed, or
considered in any manner with respect to any current or subsequent juvenile
delinquency matter, including, but not limited to, a charge, filing,
eligibility or decision for diversion or discharge, or sentencing, other
disposition, or related decision affecting the juvenile, or with respect to any
current or subsequent prosecution for committing an offense or other violation
of law, including, but not limited to, a charge, filing, eligibility or
decision for diversion or discharge, or sentencing, other disposition, or
related decision affecting an adult under 21 years of age. Also, these records
shall be deemed confidential and shall not be subject to public inspection or
copying pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), and
their existence shall not be acknowledged based upon any inquiry in the same
manner as if the records were expunged records pursuant to the provisions of
subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:52-15.
���� (c)�� All of the records
maintained by a law enforcement agency and reported to the Attorney General as
described in subsubparagraph (i) of subparagraph (b) of this paragraph shall be
destroyed or permanently deleted by the law enforcement agency and Attorney General
on the second anniversary following the creation of the record concerning a
violation, or not later than the last day of the month in which that second
anniversary date falls, or alternatively not later than the 21st birthday of a
person who is the subject of a record, or not later than the last day of the
month in which that birthday falls, whichever date occurs sooner, except that a
record shall be maintained upon request by the person named in the record or
representative thereof, the law enforcement officer who made the record, or the
law enforcement agency currently maintaining the record if it involves a
lawsuit, disciplinary complaint, or criminal prosecution arising from the
violation described in the record, based on an assertion that the record has
evidentiary or exculpatory value. Upon final disposition of the matter for
which the extended record retention was requested, the record shall be
destroyed or permanently deleted.
���� (d)�� A law enforcement
officer shall be guilty of the crime of official deprivation of civil rights as
set forth in section 3 of P.L.2021, c.25 (C.2C:30-6.1) for violating the
provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection that address law enforcement
actions involving persons who are under the legal age to purchase alcoholic
beverages or cannabis items.
���� b.��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2021, c.25)
���� c.���� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2021, c.25)
���� d.��� Nothing in this act
shall apply to possession of alcoholic beverages by any such person while
actually engaged in the performance of employment pursuant to an employment
permit issued by the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or
for a bona fide hotel or restaurant, in accordance with the provisions of
R.S.33:1-26, or while actively engaged in the preparation of food while
enrolled in a culinary arts or hotel management program at a county vocational
school or post-secondary educational institution; and nothing in this section
shall apply to possession of cannabis items by any such person while actually
engaged in the performance of employment by a cannabis establishment,
distributor, or delivery service as permitted pursuant to the "New Jersey
Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization
Act," P.L.2021, c.16 (C.24:6I-31 et al.).
���� e.���� Except as otherwise
provided in this section, the provisions of section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169
(C.33:1-81.1a) shall apply to a parent, guardian or other person with legal
custody of a person under 18 years of age who is found to be in violation of
this section.
���� f.���� An underage person and
one or two other persons shall be immune from prosecution under this section
if:
���� (1)�� one of the underage
persons called 9-1-1 and reported that another underage person was in need of
medical assistance due to alcohol consumption, or the consumption of marijuana,
hashish, or a cannabis item;
���� (2)�� the underage person who
called 9-1-1 and, if applicable, one or two other persons acting in concert
with the underage person who called 9-1-1 provided each of their names to the
9-1-1 first responder dispatcher;
���� (3)�� the underage person was
the first person to make the 9-1-1 report; and
���� (4)�� the underage person and,
if applicable, one or two other persons acting in concert with the underage
person who made the 9-1-1 call remained on the scene with the person under the
legal age in need of medical assistance until assistance arrived and cooperated
with medical assistance and law enforcement personnel on the scene.
���� The underage person who
received medical assistance also shall be immune from prosecution under this
section.
���� g.��� For purposes of this
section, an alcoholic beverage includes powdered alcohol as defined by
R.S.33:1-1, a cannabis item includes any item available for lawful consumption
pursuant to the "New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance,
and Marketplace Modernization Act," P.L.2021, c.16 (C.24:6I-31 et al.),
and the terms "marijuana" and "hashish" have the same
meaning as set forth in N.J.S.2C:35-2, and the terms "drug
paraphernalia" and "cannabis paraphernalia" have the same
meaning as set forth in N.J.S.2C:36-1 and section 3 of P.L.2021, c.16
(C.24:6I-33), respectively.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.447, s.4)
���� 2. �� Section 3 of P.L.1991,
c. 169 ( 1.33:1-81.1a)
���� 3.��� A parent, guardian or
other person having legal custody of a person under 18 years of age found in
violation of R.S.33:1-81 or section 1 of P.L.1979, c.264 (C.2C:33-15) with
respect to purchasing, possessing, or consuming any alcoholic beverage or
cannabis item available for lawful consumption pursuant to the "New Jersey
Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization
Act," P.L.2021, c.16 (C.24:6I-31 et al.) shall be notified [of the
violation in writing]
that the underage person has been taken into temporary custody for the
violation but has not been subject to arrest pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1979,
c.264 (C.2C:33-15).�
���� The parent, guardian or other
person having legal custody of a person under 18 years of age shall be subject
to a fine in the amount of $500.00 upon any subsequent violation of R.S.33:1-81
or section 1 of P.L.1979, c.264 (C.2C:33-15) on the part of such person if it
is shown that the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody failed
or neglected to exercise reasonable supervision or control over the conduct of
the person under 18 years of age.�
(cf: P.L.2021, c.16, s.71)
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.�
STATEMENT
���� This bill provides that if a
person under the age of 18 violates the law by purchasing or possessing
alcoholic beverages or cannabis and receives a written warning from a law
enforcement officer, the law enforcement officer would also be required to take
the person into custody and notify the minor�s parent, guardian, or other
person having legal custody of the minor that the underage person was taken
into custody.� Under the bill, the minor would be taken into temporary custody
but not subject to arrest. �
���� P.L.2021, c.25 established
certain consequences for persons who purchase or possess alcoholic beverages or
cannabis items when under the legal age to do so.� These consequences include
notification to the minor�s parent, guardian, or other person having legal
custody of the minor.� However, P.L.2021, c.25 does require that the minor be
temporarily detained and the minor�s parent, guardian, or other person having
legal custody of the minor be notified of the temporary detention.�
���� This bill requires that the
minor be temporarily detained but not subject to arrest.� The bill preserves
provisions of current law that prohibit a record of the minor�s possession of
alcoholic beverages or cannabis in any juvenile delinquency matter.� The bill
also clarifies that a law enforcement officer is required to seize from persons
under 21 years of age any alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, cannabis
item, or drug or cannabis paraphernalia to be destroyed or secured for use in
law enforcement training or educational programs.