New Jersey A 1355: Establishes animal abuser registry; prohibits person convicted of criminal animal cruelty violation from owning, keeping, or harboring any animal, and establishes enforcement mechanisms therefor.

Bill Text

A1355 

ASSEMBLY, No. 1355 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ELLEN J. PARK

District 37 (Bergen)

SYNOPSIS

���� Expands scope of law enforcement sexual assault 
training; codifies certain responsibilities of county sexual violence programs 
and rape care advocates.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative 
Counsel.

�� 

An Act concerning law enforcement sexual assault 
training and sexual assault victim services and amending P.L.2017, c.192 and 
P.L.2001, c.81.� 

���� Be It 
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of 
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.2017, 
c.192 (C.52:4B-54.1) is amended to read as follows:� 

���� 1.��� a.�� The Division of 
Criminal Justice shall develop or approve a training course and curriculum for 
law enforcement officers on the handling, investigation, and response 
procedures for reports of sexual assault.� 

���� The training course 
and curriculum shall include information on the neurobiological impact of 
trauma, the influence of societal myths and stereotypes, understanding 
perpetrator behavior, and conducting effective investigations, including but 
not limited to:� 

���� (1)� how specific 
experiences impact victim trauma, memory, reactions, and behavior and the 
impact of the law enforcement officer�s interpretation of this behavior on a 
sexual assault investigation;

���� (2)� the 
impact of decisions made by law enforcement on the progression of a sexual 
assault investigation;

���� (3)� strategies 
for working with victims to facilitate trust and communication; 

���� (4)� strategies 
for postponing judgment on the validity of a case until a thorough 
investigation is completed; and 

���� (5)� investigative 
methods and techniques focusing on offender behavior.

���� This training course and 
curriculum shall be reviewed at least every two years by the division and 
modified as need may require.� The division shall make the curriculum available 
to all law enforcement agencies in the State.�� 

���� b.��� The Attorney General 
shall be responsible for ensuring that all law enforcement officers, 
including prosecutors, triennially complete in-service training [triennially] on the 
handling of sexual assault matters.� 

(cf:� P.L.2017, c.192, s.1)

���� 2.��� Section 6 of P.L.2001, 
c.81 (C.52:4B-54) is amended to read as follows:� 

���� 6.��� a.���� The county 
prosecutor's office in each county shall establish a Sexual Assault Response 
Team or shall enter into a collaborative agreement with another county to share 
the services of

that county's response team. The 
response team shall be comprised

of: a certified forensic sexual 
assault nurse examiner, a rape care advocate from the county program 
established, or designated by the Division on Women in the Department of 
Children and Families, as provided under section 3 of P.L.2001, c.81 
(C.52:4B-51), and a law enforcement official.� The response team shall:� 

���� (1)�� respond to a report of 
sexual assault at the request of a victim of sexual assault pursuant to 
guidelines established by the Attorney General pursuant to section 17 of 
P.L.2001, c.81 (C.52:4B-60); and

���� (2)�� provide treatment, 
counseling, legal, and forensic medical services to a victim of sexual assault 
in accordance with this section and the standard protocols developed by 
the Attorney General pursuant to subsection d. of section 6 of P.L.1985, c.404 
(C.52:4B-44).

���� b.��� Each member of the 
response team shall complete the standardized education and training program 
developed by the program coordinator pursuant to subsection e. of section 4 of 
P.L.2001, c.81 (C.52:4B-52).� 

���� c.���� Every healthcare 
facility and law enforcement agency shall ensure that a sexual assault victim is 
informed of the availability of services offered by a designated county sexual 
violence program, including, but not limited, to the availability of a rape 
care advocate, regardless of the time or location of the incident or whether 
the victim reported the incident to a law enforcement agency. �A representative 
of the facility or agency, as appropriate, shall convey this information as 
soon as possible, but at a minimum, before a sexual assault medical forensic 
examination is conducted or a statement is taken, unless the victim requires 
immediate medical attention, in which case the information shall be conveyed as 
soon as possible after receipt of medical attention.� 

���� d.��� If the victim 
requests the services of a rape care advocate from the county sexual violence 
program, the healthcare facility or law enforcement agency shall procure these 
services on behalf of the victim.� 

���� e.���� Services to be 
provided by the rape care advocate shall include, but not be limited to: 

���� (1)� explaining the 
advocate�s role on the sexual assault response team and informing t