New Jersey A 5836: Requires county prosecutors to publish annual report related to plea agreements and controlled dangerous substances.

Bill Text

(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 6/26/2025) 
ASSEMBLY, No. 5836  
STATE OF NEW JERSEY 
221st LEGISLATURE 
   
INTRODUCED JUNE 16, 2025 
 
 
Sponsored by: 
Assemblywoman  MICHELE MATSIKOUDIS 
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union) 
Assemblywoman  NANCY F. MUÑOZ 
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union) 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS 
 Requires   county   prosecutors   to   publish   annual   report   related   to   plea 
agreements and controlled dangerous substances.  
 
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT  
 As introduced. 
    

 
A5836 MATSIKOUDIS, MUNOZ 
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AN ACT concerning  plea  agreements  and  controlled  dangerous 1 
substances, and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes. 2 
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 BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 4 
of New Jersey: 5 
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 1. In  addition  to the report  prepared  by  county  prosecutors 7 
pursuant   to subsection   b.   of  section 15 of   P.L.1970,   c.74 8 
(C.52:17B-111), and the report prepared by the Attorney General in 9 
accordance  with  section  1  of  P.L.2020,  c.120  (C.52:17B-111.1), 10 
each  county  prosecutor  shall submit  to  the  Attorney  General  a 11 
written   report   for   the   last   preceding   calendar   year of data 12 
concerning   plea   agreement   negotiations   for   crimes   related   to 13 
controlled  dangerous  substances.   The information prepared  by 14 
county prosecutors pursuant to this section shall be compiled by the 15 
Attorney  General and, pursuant  to  section  2  of  P.L.1991,  c.164 16 
(C.52:14-19.1),  be annually  reported  to  the  Legislature by  the 17 
Attorney  General.   Such  plea  agreement  information  shall  include 18 
data  concerning  plea  offers  extended and  accepted  or  rejected  by 19 
the defendant, plea agreements entered or rejected by the court, and 20 
the   type   and   quantity   of   the   controlled   dangerous   substance 21 
involved in the alleged indictable offense.   22 
 “Controlled dangerous substance” shall have the same  meaning 23 
as defined in N.J.S.2C:35-2. 24 
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 2.  This act shall take effect immediately. 26 
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STATEMENT 29 
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 This  bill  requires  county  prosecutors  to annually provide  the 31 
Attorney  General with detailed  information  related  to  plea  offers 32 
and agreements in controlled dangerous substance-related cases.   33 
 Under  current  law,  county  prosecutors  are  required  to  submit  to 34 
the  Attorney  General  a  report  for  the  last  preceding  calendar  year 35 
covering    dispositions    of    complaints,    investigations,    criminal 36 
actions,   and   proceedings.      Moreover,   the   Attorney   General   is 37 
required  to  collect  and  record  data  regarding  certain  defendants  in 38 
the  State  who  commit  indictable  offenses,  and  include  information 39 
on  plea  agreement  negotiations.    The  Attorney  General  is  required 40 
to  annually  prepare  and  transmit  the  report  to  the  Governor  and 41 
Legislature.    However,  current  law  does  not specifically require 42 
reporting of data concerning controlled dangerous substance-related 43 
plea agreements.  44 
 Under the bill, a county prosecutor would report data for the last 45 
preceding  calendar  year  concerning  plea  offers  in  instances  of 46 
offenses  related  to  controlled  dangerous  substances,  including  plea 47 
offers  extended  and  rejected  by  the  defendant,  plea  agreements 48 

 
A5836 MATSIKOUDIS, MUNOZ 
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entered  or  rejected  by  the  court,  and  the  type  and  quantity  of  the 1 
controlled  dangerous  substance  involved  in  the  alleged  indictable 2 
offense.  The Attorney  General is required to compile and annually 3 
report the data and information under the bill to the Legislature.  4