A 4542

ASSEMBLY, No. 4542
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman� ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
Assemblywoman� MAUREEN ROWAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Sweeney, Flynn and Park
SYNOPSIS
���� Makes it fourth degree crime to engage in certain
tracking and location activities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning electronic tracking devices and tracking applications and
supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
���� Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� As used in this act:
���� �Electronic tracking device�
means any device designed or intended to be used for the sole purpose of
tracking the location or movement of a person that reveals its location or
movement by the transmission of electronic signals.
���� �Tracking application� means
any computer application software installed or otherwise operational on a
computer or mobile device that is used to surreptitiously track and transmit to
another person the movement or the location of the computer or mobile device.
���� b.��� A person who, in order
to initiate or facilitate an unlawful act, knowingly installs or places, or
causes the installation or placement of, an electronic tracking device or
tracking application to track or determine the location of another person,
commits a crime of the fourth degree.�
���� c.���� For the purposes of
this act, the following uses of an electronic tracking device or tracking
application shall be considered lawful:
���� (1)�� by the parent or
guardian of a minor child for the purpose of tracking or determining the
location of the minor child;
���� (2)�� for the purpose of
monitoring, tracking, or locating a person who, due to a physical or mental
health condition, may be at risk of injury or death;
���� (3)�� by a person who has
obtained the consent of the person to be tracked or located, in accordance with
subsection e. of this section;
���� (4)�� by a person in order to
track or locate personal property during a lawful business transaction in which
the person�s personal property is in the temporary possession or otherwise
under the control of a third party;
���� (5)�� by a person collecting
consumer location data as part of a lawful business practice, so long as the
use is disclosed in a terms of use policy, privacy policy, or similar document
or form made available �to the consumer; or
���� (6)�� by an employer for the
purpose of tracking an employee or vehicle used by an employee while engaged in
the course of employment when not prohibited by State or federal law or
regulation; a failure by an employer to comply with the written notice
requirement to use a tracking device in a vehicle used by an employee in
accordance with the provisions of section 1 of P.L.2021, c.449 (C.34:6B-22) or
failure to comply with any other requirements in order to track an employee or
vehicle used by an employee pursuant to another State or federal law or
regulation shall only be considered a violation of that law or regulation, and
punishable in accordance with that law or regulation, and shall not be
punishable as a crime pursuant to this section.
���� d.��� Except as otherwise
provided in subsections c. and f. of this section, there shall be a permissive
inference that the use of an electronic tracking device or tracking application
to conduct surreptitious surveillance of another person is to initiate or
facilitate �an unlawful act, including, but not limited to, stalking as
provided in section 1 of P.L.1992, c.209 (C.2C:12-10) or harassment as provided
in N.J.S.2C:33-4.
���� e.���� (1) �For the purposes
of obtaining consent to use an electronic tracking device or a tracking
application in accordance with subsection c. of this section, the person to be
tracked or located shall provide consent in writing, in the case of an
electronic tracking device, or by opting-in to or otherwise affirmatively
accepting the use of the application, in the case of a tracking application.�
���� (2)�� For the purposes of this
act, a person�s consent is presumed to be revoked if:
���� (a)�� the person who gave
consent and the person who obtained consent are spouses, civil union partners,
or domestic partners, and one person has filed a petition for divorce,
dissolution of the civil union, or termination of the domestic partnership; or
���� (b)�� the person who gave
consent or the person who obtained consent has filed an application for a temporary
or final restraining order pursuant to the provisions of the �Prevention of
Domestic Violence Act of 1991,� P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-17 et al.).
���� f.���� The provisions of
subsection b. of this section shall not apply to State or local government
entities and equipment, leased, owned, or operated by those entities.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of
enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would make it a
crime of the fourth degree for a person, in order to initiate or facilitate an
unlawful act, to knowingly install or place, or cause to be installed or
placed, an electronic tracking device or tracking application to track or determine
the location of another person. A crime of the fourth degree is generally
punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to
$10,000, or both.
���� �The bill defines an
�electronic tracking device� as �any device designed or intended to be used for
the sole purpose of tracking the location or movement of a person that reveals
its location or movement by the transmission of electronic signals�; and a �tracking
application� as �any computer application software installed or otherwise
operational on a computer or mobile device that is used to surreptitiously
track and transmit to another person the movement or determine the location of
the computer or mobile device.�
���� There would be a permissive
inference (for consideration by a jury) that the use of a tracking device or
application to conduct surreptitious surveillance of another person was to
initiate or facilitate an unlawful act, such as stalking pursuant to section 1
of P.L.1992, c.209 (C.2C:12-10) or harassment pursuant to N.J.S.2C:33-4.�
���� The bill would exempt actions
involving State or local government entities and equipment owned, leased, or
operated by those entities, as the bill indicates that the provisions which
criminalize tracking or location spotting activities would not be applicable to
such entities.
���� The bill also provides that certain
uses of an electronic tracking device or tracking application would be
considered lawful:
���� - by a parent or guardian of a
minor child for the purpose of tracking or determining the location of the
minor child;
���� - for the purpose of
monitoring, tracking, or locating a person who, due to a physical or mental
health condition, may be at risk of injury or death;
���� - by a person in order to
track or locate personal property during a lawful business transaction in which
the person�s personal property is in the temporary possession or otherwise
under the control of a third party;
���� - by a person collecting
consumer location data as part of a lawful business practice, so long as the
use is disclosed in a terms of use policy, privacy policy, or similar document
or form made available to the consumer;
���� - by an employer for the
purpose of tracking an employee or vehicle used by an employee while engaged in
the course of employment when not prohibited by State or federal law or
regulation.� The bill adds that a failure by an employer to comply with the
written notice requirement to use a tracking device in a vehicle used by an
employee in accordance with the provisions of section 1 of P.L.2021, c.449
(C.34:6B-22) or failure to comply with any other requirements in order to track
an employee or vehicle used by an employee pursuant to another State or federal
law or regulation would only be considered a violation of that law or
regulation, and not punishable as a crime pursuant to this section; and
���� - by any person who has
obtained the consent of the person to be tracked or located, which consent
would be required to be provided in writing, in the case of an electronic
tracking device, or, in the case of a tracking application, by opting-in to or
otherwise affirmatively accepting its use.
���� A person�s consent would be
presumed to be revoked if:
���� - the person who gave consent
and the person who obtained consent are spouses, civil union partners, or
domestic partners, and one person has filed a petition for divorce, dissolution
of the civil union, or termination of the domestic partnership; or
���� - the person who gave consent
or the person who obtained consent has filed an application for a temporary or
final restraining order pursuant to the provisions of the �Prevention of
Domestic Violence Act of 1991,� P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-17 et al.).