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A 4966

Relates to exempting private and parochial schools and day care centers from immunization requirements

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Dave DiPietro

NJ bill eliminates criminal time limits for kidnapping and human trafficking and lengthens civil limits for trafficking victims, with tolling and discovery protections.

REFERRED TO HEALTH
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Bill Summary · A 4966

Summary — Assembly Bill A4966 (reprint ACW 5/5/25 1R)

Status / Timeline
- Introduced: October 21, 2024 (Assembly). Primary sponsor: Assemblyman David DiPietro.
- Committee referrals: Assembly Community Development & Women’s Affairs; later referred to Health (Feb. 10, 2025).
- Most recent action: Reported favorably with committee amendments by the Assembly Community Development & Women’s Affairs Committee and referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee (May 5, 2025).

Note: although an early status entry lists referral to Health, the bill was reported out of the Community Development & Women’s Affairs Committee on 5/5/2025 and sent to Judiciary.

Purpose
- To (1) eliminate the criminal statute of limitations for kidnapping prosecutions, and (2) remove or extend statute-of-limitations barriers for criminal and civil actions involving human trafficking victims. The bill also clarifies tolling rules and prevents defendants from using delay-inducing conduct to assert a statute-of-limitations defense.

Key provisions and changes
1. Elimination of criminal time limits
- Amends N.J.S.2C:1-6 to allow prosecutions to be commenced at any time (no statute of limitations) for enumerated offenses, including: kidnapping (added by committee amendment), human trafficking (C.2C:13-8 and related provisions), and several other serious crimes listed in the statute.

  1. Extended civil limitations for human trafficking victims (amends C.2C:13-8.1 / P.L.2013, c.51, s.4)

    • A civil action by a human trafficking victim may be commenced by the later of:
      • 10 years after the cause of action accrued; or
      • 10 years after the injured person reaches age 18 if the victim was a minor at the time of the injury; or
      • Two years from the date of reasonable discovery of the injury and its causal link to the offense.
    • For injuries resulting from multiple acts or a continuing course of conduct, the 10-year civil period does not begin until the final act occurs or the conduct concludes.
    • Tolling for disability: statute of limitations is tolled for periods in which the plaintiff is institutionalized for mental illness, has an intellectual disability, is found mentally incapacitated, or is in a medically comatose/vegetative state.
    • Estoppel clause: a defendant who induced the plaintiff to delay suit through duress, threats, intimidation, manipulation, fraud, or similar conduct cannot assert that the action is time-barred.

  2. Civil remedies and damages

    • Reinforces available civil remedies in trafficking cases: damages (including punitive), recovery for lost wages/value of labor, reasonable medical/mental health costs, and attorney’s fees. The standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence.

Who is affected
- Victims of kidnapping and human trafficking: greater access to criminal prosecution and extended time to bring civil claims, particularly minors and persons subject to ongoing coercion or disability.
- Defendants (alleged traffickers, kidnappers, beneficiaries or maintainers of trafficking victims): longer exposure to criminal prosecution and civil suits; estoppel in cases involving coercive delay.
- Prosecutors, courts, defense counsel: procedural adjustments in charging, discovery and defenses related to statutes of limitation.
- Potential civil defendants beyond primary offenders: persons who knowingly derived pecuniary benefit or maintained trafficking victims may face civil liability for longer periods.

Policy/Practical implications
- Aligns New Jersey civil statute-of-limitations rules for trafficking with analogous federal provisions by extending to 10 years and adding discovery/minor protections.
- Removes temporal limitations for prosecuting certain grave offenses (including kidnapping), allowing prosecutions regardless of how much time has elapsed.
- Adds protections recognizing the impact of coercion, ongoing exploitation, and disability on a victim’s ability to timely pursue redress.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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