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S 3596

Warns voters about New York's closed primary system on voter registration forms

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Gustavo Rivera

The bill criminalizes denying access to service/guide dogs, elevating penalties to petty or disorderly counts and adding enforcement and public-awareness measures.

REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
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Bill Summary · S 3596

Summary — S 3596 (Introduced Sept. 19, 2024; Sponsor: Sen. Gustavo Rivera)

Note: The bill text provided concerns New Jersey law protecting access for people with disabilities who use service or guide dogs. (The bill title shown initially about New York closed primaries appears to be a clerical mismatch and is not reflected in the version content below.)

Purpose

To strengthen penalties for persons who deny or interfere with the access of people with disabilities accompanied by service or guide dogs to:
- public facilities,
- New Jersey Transit (NJT) vehicles or facilities, and
- transportation network companies (TNCs; see P.L.2017, c.26).

The bill converts existing graduated civil penalties into criminal charges and adds enforcement and awareness provisions.

Key provisions and changes

  • Replaces the current civil-penalty regime (previously $250 first / $500 second / $1,000 third+) with criminal charges:
    • First violation: charged as a petty disorderly persons offense.
    • Second and each subsequent violation: charged as a disorderly persons offense.
  • Increases potential imprisonment for disorderly persons offenses arising under the relevant discrimination statute:
    • Notwithstanding N.J.S.2C:43‑8, a disorderly persons offense under section 1 of P.L.1971, c.130 (C.10:5‑29) may carry up to one year imprisonment (the bill thus raises the standard disorderly-persons term in this context).
  • Enforcement procedure changes:
    • Law enforcement officers shall issue a summons and execute process consistent with the Rules of Court (supplants prior penalty-collection summary proceedings under the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999).
    • Issuing a summons does not prevent an aggrieved person from filing a complaint with the Division on Civil Rights or a Superior Court action; if such a complaint/action is filed, the Division or Superior Court shall decide de novo, and municipal-court adjudication is not res judicata for that action.
  • Use of penalties and outreach:
    • Penalties collected are payable to the State Treasurer and appropriated to the Department of Law & Public Safety to fund educational programs for law enforcement about service- and guide-dog access rights.
    • The Attorney General must establish a public awareness campaign about the law.

Who is affected

  • Persons, businesses, and entities operating public accommodations, NJ Transit, and TNCs that deny access to service/guide dogs and their handlers.
  • Individuals with disabilities using service/guide dogs (strengthened protection and enforcement options).
  • Municipal courts, law enforcement, Division on Civil Rights, Superior Court, Dept. of Law & Public Safety, and the Attorney General (new enforcement, training, and outreach duties).

Procedural status and timeline

  • Introduced: Sept. 19, 2024; referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.
  • Referred to Elections (Jan. 28, 2025); printed as 3596A (Apr. 8, 2025); amended and recommitted to Elections (Apr. 8, 2025).
  • Reported and committed to Finance: May 28, 2025 (current status: REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE).

Related bills

  • Companion: A 5140; A 8126 (also listed)
  • Prior-session/related: A 5735, A 3504, A 908, S 3465

Potential impacts (concise)

  • Increases deterrence by criminalizing discriminatory denial of access to service dogs and raising potential jail terms.
  • May increase municipal-court and criminal-court caseloads and law enforcement involvement.
  • Generates funding and mandates for law-enforcement education and a public awareness campaign.

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

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