New Jersey S 1061: Clarifies the effective date of the "New Jersey False Claims Act."

Bill Text

S1061 

SENATE, No. 1061 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator NILSA I. CRUZ-PEREZ

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

SYNOPSIS

���� Permits local governments to request civil service 
law enforcement examinations; increases training reimbursement for law 
enforcement positions; removes certain law enforcement appointees from civil 
service eligible list; allows county hiring preference for county police 
departments.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

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

�� 

An Act concerning civil service law enforcement 
examinations and hiring practices, amending various parts of the statutory law, 
and supplementing chapter 4 of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes and chapter 
14 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� (New section)� A county 
or municipal police department may request an open competitive examination to 
fill a vacancy for an entrance level law enforcement title.� The examination 
shall be held no later than ten business days from the date of receipt of the 
request for the examination by the commission, and shall be held in an 
appropriate location agreed to by the commission and the appointing authority.� 
The names of the persons who receive a passing score shall be consolidated with 
the most recent eligible list for such title.� 

���� 2.��� (New section)� a.� The 
appointing authority for a county police department and force may classify all 
the duly qualified applicants for members of the department into the following 
classes:

���� I.���� Residents of the 
county.

���� II.�� Other residents of the 
State.

���� III.� All other qualified 
applicants.

���� Within each classification, 
duly qualified applicants who are veterans shall be accorded all veterans' 
preferences as are provided by law.� Any person who has served in the armed 
services of the United States and been discharged or released from the service 
under conditions other than dishonorable within six months prior to making 
application for appointment as a member of the county police department and 
force and who, at the time of making the application, signs a notice of intention 
and agreement to become a resident of the State within six months from the date 
of appointment, shall be placed in Class II.

���� Preference in appointment 
second to that accorded to veterans as provided by law, but superseding that 
accorded non-veterans, shall be accorded all duly qualified applicants whose 
natural or adoptive parent was killed in the lawful discharge of official duties 
while serving as a law enforcement officer in any law enforcement agency in the 
State at any time prior to the closing date for the filing of an application, 
provided that required documentation is submitted with the application by the 
closing date, except that this preference shall not apply if the county has 
entered into a consent decree with the

United States Department of Justice 
concerning the hiring practices of the county.

���� When a veteran and a 
non-veteran whose parent was killed in the lawful discharge of official duties 
while serving as a law enforcement officer in any law enforcement agency in the 
State are duly qualified applicants for a position, first preference shall be 
given to the veteran.

���� As used in this section, 
"law enforcement officer" means any person who is employed as a 
permanent full-time member of a law enforcement agency, and who is statutorily 
empowered to act for the detection, investigation, arrest, and conviction of 
persons violating the criminal laws of this State and statutorily required to 
successfully complete a training course approved, or certified as being 
substantially equivalent to the approved course, by the Police Training 
Commission pursuant to P.L.1961, c.56 (C.52:17B-66 et seq.); and "law 
enforcement agency" means a department, division, bureau, commission, 
board, or other authority of the State or of any political subdivision thereof 
which has by statute or ordinance the responsibility of detecting and enforcing 
the general criminal laws of this State.

���� b.��� In any county which 
classifies qualified applicants pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the 
appointing authority shall first appoint all those in Class I and then those in 
each succeeding class in the order above listed, and shall appoint a person or 
persons in a class only to a vacancy or vacancies remaining after all qualified 
applicants in the preceding class or classes have been appointed or have 
declined an offer of appointment.

���� c.���� In any county operating 
under the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes which classifies 
qualified applicants pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the classes of 
qualified applicants defined in that subsection shall be