New Jersey A 954: Requires water purveyors to notify municipalities they service regarding water supply and water quality issues.

Bill Text

A954 

ASSEMBLY, No. 954 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER

District 37 (Bergen)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Reynolds-Jackson and Park

SYNOPSIS

���� Imposes time constraints on submission and analysis 
of rape kits.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

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

��

An Act concerning sexual assault evidence and supplementing 
Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.� 

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

���� 1.��� This act shall be known 
and may be cited as the �Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act.�

���� 2.��� As used in this act: 

���� "Law enforcement 
agencies" means municipal, county, State or federal law enforcement 
agencies involved in the investigation of sexual assault cases in this State.

���� "Sexual assault 
evidence" means evidence collected in connection with a sexual assault 
investigation, including, but not limited to, evidence collected during a 
forensic sexual assault examination.

���� �Superintendent� means the 
Superintendent of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

���� 3.��� A law enforcement agency 
shall submit sexual assault evidence received in connection with the 
investigation of a criminal case within 10 business days of receipt to the 
Central Laboratory in the Office of Forensic Science in the Division of State 
Police or to a laboratory approved by the superintendent.

���� 4.��� All sexual assault 
evidence submitted pursuant to section 3 of this act on or after the effective 
date of this act shall be analyzed within six months after receipt of all 
necessary evidence by the Central Laboratory in the Office of Forensic Science 
or other approved laboratory if sufficient staffing and resources are 
available.

���� 5.��� a.�� Within 45 days of 
the effective date of this act, each law enforcement agency in this State shall 
provide written notice to the superintendent, in a form and manner prescribed 
by the superintendent, stating the number of sexual assault cases in the custody 
of the law enforcement agency that have not been previously submitted to a 
laboratory for analysis.

���� b.��� Within 180 days of the 
effective date of this act, appropriate arrangements shall be made between the 
law enforcement agency and the superintendent to ensure that all cases that 
were collected prior to the effective date of this act and are, or were at the 
time of collection, the subject of a criminal sexual assault investigation are 
submitted to the Central Laboratory in the Office of Forensic Science or to a 
laboratory approved by the superintendent.

���� c.��� Within 120 days of the 
effective date of this act, the superintendent shall submit to the Governor, 
Attorney General, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the General Assembly 
a plan for analyzing cases submitted pursuant to this section. The plan shall 
include, but not be limited to, a timeline for completion of analysis and a 
summary of the inventory received, as well as requests for funding and 
resources necessary to meet the established timeline.

����� d.�� After 
the effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the 
Legislature as this bill), a law enforcement agency shall provide written 
notice to the superintendent of a violation of the provisions of section 3 of 
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).� 
Within five days of the discovery of a violation, the law enforcement agency 
shall report to the superintendent, in a form and manner prescribed by the 
superintendent, the nature of the violation, the circumstances under which it 
occurred, and the name of any law enforcement officer or employee who committed 
the violation or who may have knowledge of the violation.� The superintendent 
shall maintain a record of all violations and notify the Attorney General of 
any violations.

���� 6.��� The failure of a law 
enforcement agency to submit the sexual assault evidence collected on or after 
the effective date of this act within 10 business days after receipt shall not 
alter the authority of the law enforcement agency to submit the evidence or the 
authority of the Central Laboratory or other approved laboratory to analyze and 
type the genetic markers contained in or derived from DNA samples which are stored 
and maintained in the State DNA database and forwarded to the FBI for inclusion 
in CODIS in accordance with statute, rule, or regulation.

���� 7.��� Sexual assault evidence 
submitted for analysis pursuant to this act shall be accompanied by the 
following signed certification:

���� "This 
evidence is being submitted by (name of investigating law enforcement agency) 
in connection with a prior or current