Makes it unlawful to record telephone call or other conversation unless all parties consent.

A1211

ASSEMBLY, No. 1211

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ALEXANDER "AVI" SCHNALL

District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Makes it unlawful to record telephone call or other
conversation unless all parties consent.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning the recording of certain conversations and
amending
P.L.1968, c.409.

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

���� 1. Section 4 of P.L.1968, c.409
(C.2A:156A-4) is amended to read as follows:

���� 4.��� It shall not be unlawful
under
[
this
act
]

P.L.1968,
c.409 (C.2A:156A-4)
for:

���� a.��� An operator of a
switchboard, or an officer, agent or employee of a provider of wire or
electronic communication service, whose facilities are used in the transmission
of a wire or electronic communication, to intercept, disclose or use that
communication in the normal course of his employment while engaged in any
activity which is a necessary incident to the rendition of his service or to
the protection of the rights or property of the provider of that service.� No
provider of wire or electronic communication service shall utilize service
observing or random monitoring except for mechanical or service quality control
checks;

���� b.��� Any investigative or law
enforcement officer to intercept a wire, electronic or oral communication,
where such officer is a party to the communication or where another officer who
is a party to the communication requests or requires him to make such interception;

���� c.��� Any person acting at the
direction of an investigative or law enforcement officer to intercept a wire,
electronic or oral communication, where such person is a party to the
communication or one of the parties to the communication has given prior
consent to such interception; provided, however, that no such interception
shall be made without the prior approval of the Attorney General or his
designee or a county prosecutor or his designee;�

���� d.��� A person not acting
under color of law to intercept a wire, electronic or oral communication, where

[
such
person is a party to the communication or one of the parties to the
communication has
]

all parties to the communication have
given prior consent to such
interception
,
unless such communication is intercepted or used for the
purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the
Constitution or laws of the United States or of this State or for the purpose
of committing any other injurious act
[
.
The fact that such person is the subscriber to a particular telephone does not
constitute consent effective to authorize interception of communications among
parties not including such person on that telephone.� Any person who unlawfully
intercepts or uses such communication as provided in this paragraph shall be
subject to the civil liability established in section 24 of P.L.1968, c.409
(C.2A:156A-24), in addition to any other criminal or civil liability imposed by
law
]
;

���� e.��� Any person to intercept
or access an electronic communication made through an electronic communication
system that is configured so that such electronic communication is readily
accessible to the general public;�

���� f.���� Any person to intercept
any radio communication which is transmitted:

���� (1)� by any station for the
use of the general public, or that relates to ships, aircraft, vehicles, or
persons in distress;�

���� (2)� by any governmental, law
enforcement, civil defense, private land mobile, or public safety communication
system, including police and fire, readily accessible to the general public;�

���� (3)� by a station operating on
an authorized frequency within the bands allocated to the amateur, citizens
band, or general mobile radio services; or

���� (4)� by any marine or
aeronautical communications system;

���� g.��� Any person to engage in
any conduct which:

���� (1)� is prohibited by section
633 of the Communications Act of 1934; or

���� (2)� is excepted from the
application of section 705(a) of the Communications Act of 1934 by section
705(b) of that Act;�

���� h.��� Any person to intercept
any wire or electronic communication the transmission of which is causing
harmful interference to any lawfully operating station or consumer electronic
equipment, to the extent necessary to identify the source of such interference;
or for other users of the same frequency to intercept any radio communication
made through a system that utilizes frequencies monitored by individuals
engaged in the provision or the use of such system, if such communication is
not scrambled or encrypted; or

���� i.���� A provider of
electronic communication service to record the fact that a wire or electronic
communication was initiated or completed in order to protect such provider,
another provider furnishing service toward the completion of the wire or
electronic communication, or a user of that service, from fraudulent, unlawful
or abusive use of such service.

(cf: P.L.1999, c.151, s.3.)

���� 2. This act shall take effect
on the 90
th
day following enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would make it
unlawful for a private citizen to record a phone call or other conversation
unless all parties consent.��������� Currently, the wiretapping statutes
provide that in situations where a person has an expectation of privacy, it is
unlawful for a private citizen to use an electronic, mechanical, or other
device to record a conversation, unless the person making the recording is a
party to the conversation, or one of the parties consents to the recording. The
statutes set out exceptions for law enforcement, which would not be affected by
this bill.

���� Violation of the wiretapping
law is a crime of the third degree, punishable by a term of imprisonment of
three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.

���� Because New Jersey recording
law generally requires the consent of only one party to a conversation, New
Jersey is currently known as a �one-party consent� state. This bill would
change the law to make New Jersey an �all-party consent� state. Currently, 11
states require such �all-party consent.�