New Jersey A 761: Grants law enforcement officer benefits to certain campus police officers enrolled in PERS.

Bill Text

A761 

ASSEMBLY, No. 761 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman AL ABDELAZIZ

District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Grants law enforcement officer benefits to certain 
campus police officers enrolled in PERS.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

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

�� 

An Act concerning retirement benefits for certain public 
employees enrolled in the Public Employees� Retirement System and amending 
P.L.1955, c.257.

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

���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.1955, 
c.257 (C.43:15A-97) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� "Law enforcement 
officer" shall mean any permanent and full-time employee of the State of 
New Jersey holding one of the following titles:� motor vehicles officer, motor 
vehicles sergeant, motor vehicles lieutenant, motor vehicles captain, assistant 
chief, bureau of enforcement, and chief, bureau of enforcement in the Division 
of Motor Vehicles, and highway patrol officer, sergeant highway patrol bureau, 
lieutenant highway patrol bureau, captain highway patrol bureau, assistant 
chief highway patrol bureau, chief highway patrol bureau in the Division of 
State Police, and inspector, investigator, and administrative inspector in the 
Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, and inspector recruit alcoholic 
beverage control, inspector alcoholic beverage control, senior inspector 
alcoholic beverage control, principal inspector alcoholic beverage control, 
supervising inspector alcoholic beverage control in the Division of State 
Police, and conservation police officer, assistant district conservation police 
officer and district conservation police officer in the Division of Fish and 
Wildlife in the Department of Environmental Protection, and assistant chief 
marine police and senior marine patrolman in the Division of Resource 
Development, and marine police officer, senior marine police officer, principal 
marine police officer in the Division of State Police, and inspector, officer, 
senior inspector, and principal inspector in the Division of Shell Fisheries, 
any permanent and full-time active county detective, lieutenant of county 
detectives, captain of county detectives, chief of county detectives, and 
county investigator in the offices of the county prosecutors, and sheriff's 
officer, sergeant sheriff's officer, lieutenant sheriff's officer, captain 
sheriff's officer, chief sheriff's officer, and sheriff's investigator in the 
offices of the county sheriffs, and any patrolman or other police officer of 
the Board of Commissioners of the Palisades Interstate Park appointed pursuant 
to R.S.32:14-21.� The term shall also mean any permanent and full-time campus 
police officer appointed pursuant to P.L.1970, c.211 (C.18A:6-4.2 et seq.) who 
does not meet the age or medical requirements for enrollment in the Police and 
Firemen�s Retirement System established pursuant to P.L.1944, c.255 (C.43:16A-2 
et seq.).

���� If the Prison Officers' 
Pension Fund is terminated as provided in section 10 hereof, "law 
enforcement officer" shall also mean any permanent and full-time active 
employee of the State of New Jersey holding the title of correction officer, 
correction sergeant, correction lieutenant, correction captain or deputy keeper 
in the Division of Correction and Parole, or any member of the Prison Officers' 
Pension Fund on the date of such termination.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.407, s.20)

���� 2.��� This act shall take 
effect immediately. 

STATEMENT

���� This bill grants law 
enforcement officer benefits to certain campus police officers enrolled in the 
Public Employees Retirement System (PERS).

���� Current law designates the law 
enforcement officer (LEO) part as a special category within PERS.� Members of 
the LEO category are eligible for enhanced retirement benefits that are not 
available to other members of PERS.� 

���� This bill expands eligibility 
for membership in the LEO category to include campus police officers who do not 
meet the age or medical requirements to enroll in the Police and Firemen�s 
Retirement System (PFRS) and therefore are currently enrolled in PERS.

���� By law, any member who becomes 
eligible for enrollment in the LEO category of PERS will be enrolled in that 
part of the system, unless the member waives that right.� A LEO-eligible 
individual who waives the right to participate in the LEO category will be 
enrolled in the regular part of the retirement system and receive the standard 
benefits, but remain subject to the mandatory retirement provisions that apply 
to any person employed in a LEO-eligible position.