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S 3507

Requires nursing homes and assisted living facilities to provide and maintain automated external defibrillators

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Alexis Weik

S 3507 creates "inciting a public brawl" to punish organizing or promoting a group to disrupt a public gathering, with penalties up to 4th-degree crime.

REFERRED TO HEALTH
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Bill Summary · S 3507

Summary — S 3507 (221st Legislature)

Note on subject/title: The Bill Information header provided a different title (nursing homes / AEDs). The legislative text and committee/fiscal documents for S 3507 describe criminal-law changes concerning public brawls and disorderly conduct. This summary reflects the contents of those documents.

Purpose

S 3507 creates a new offense of "inciting a public brawl" and raises the penalty in specified circumstances for disorderly conduct, with the stated intent of addressing organized or promoted group disturbances at public gatherings.

Key provisions

  • New offense — Inciting a public brawl (N.J.S.2C:33-1.c):

    • A person is guilty when they act with purpose to organize or promote a group of four or more others to engage in a course of disorderly conduct (as defined in N.J.S.2C:33-2).
    • If the actor intends to disrupt or knowing a disruption is likely at a public gathering/event, the offense is a crime of the fourth degree; otherwise it is a disorderly persons offense.
    • Conviction for inciting a public brawl does not merge with riot or disorderly conduct charges.

  • Upgrades and clarifications to disorderly conduct (N.J.S.2C:33-2):

    • Concealing identity while engaging in a course of disorderly conduct with purpose to hinder prosecution or avoid apprehension is a disorderly persons offense (upgraded from petty disorderly persons in some contexts).
    • Acting with purpose to disrupt or cause a disturbance at a public gathering or engaging in behavior knowing it will disrupt at a public gathering is expressly a disorderly persons offense (committee amendments added the “knowing” language and clarified causing disturbance at public gatherings).
    • Retains existing petty disorderly-persons definitions for "improper behavior" and "offensive language" except as amended above.

  • Penalties:

    • Fourth-degree crime: up to 18 months imprisonment, fine up to $10,000, or both (may be eligible for pretrial intervention).
    • Disorderly persons offense: up to 6 months imprisonment, fine up to $1,000, or both.
    • Petty disorderly persons offense (existing): up to 30 days imprisonment, fine up to $500, or both.
    • Appearance in court is mandatory for petty and disorderly persons citations.

  • Effective date: takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Who is affected

  • Individuals who organize, promote, or participate in group disorderly conduct, particularly at public gatherings.
  • Persons who conceal their identity while participating in such conduct.
  • Law enforcement, municipal courts, county prosecutors, public defenders, Department of Corrections, State Parole Board, and related criminal-justice system actors may see impacts due to new charges or upgraded penalties.

Fiscal and operational impact

  • Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates indeterminate annual increases in State and local expenditures and revenues; the number of additional prosecutions/convictions cannot be predicted.
  • Potential impacts include increased caseloads for county prosecutors and courts, increased representation needs for the Office of the Public Defender, additional incarceration/supervision costs for DOC and State Parole Board, and higher municipal court revenue from filing fees (but fine collection is historically limited).
  • Fiscal notes cite DOC average annual incarceration costs (FY 2023/2024 figures presented in different OLS versions: roughly $75k per incarcerated person annually; marginal housing cost estimates vary). Median daily county jail cost cited: $228.

Legislative status and timeline (selected)

  • Introduced: June 26, 2024 — referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.
  • Feb 13, 2025 — Reported out of Senate Law & Public Safety Committee.
  • Mar 17, 2025 — Reported out of Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee with amendments (SBA 1R).
  • Mar 24, 2025 — Substituted by A4652 (1R).
  • Bill documents show referrals to Health (listed twice on Jan 28, 2025) — there are some inconsistencies in the provided sponsor/status metadata.

Sponsors / related bills

  • Sponsor metadata provided lists Alexis Weik as primary sponsor; committee print identifies Senators Paul D. Moriarty and Benjie E. Wimberly as sponsors and lists co-sponsors (O'Scanlon, Greenstein). (Documents show inconsistent sponsor metadata.)
  • Companion: A4652 (substituted/companion).
  • Prior-session related bills: S7892, S2239.

If you want, I can produce a side-by-side comparison of current law vs. the bill text (line-by-line), or draft a plain-language one-page summary for community organizations.

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

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