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A1422 • 2026

Requires DOC to establish and implement standards for cell sizes in prison housing units.

Requires DOC to establish and implement standards for cell sizes in prison housing units.

Crime Housing
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Park, Ellen J.
Last action
2026-01-13
Official status
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Requires DOC to establish and implement standards for cell sizes in prison housing units.

Requires DOC to establish and implement standards for cell sizes in prison housing units.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires DOC to establish and implement standards for cell sizes in prison housing units.
  • Topic: Public Safety and Preparedness Fiscal note: This bill has been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-13 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee

Official Summary Text

Requires DOC to establish and implement standards for cell sizes in prison housing units.
Topic:
Public Safety and Preparedness
Fiscal note:
This bill has been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A1422

ASSEMBLY, No. 1422

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ELLEN J. PARK

District 37 (Bergen)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires DOC to establish and implement standards for
cell sizes in prison housing units.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning prison cells and supplementing chapter 4 of
Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� a.�������� For the
purposes of this act:

���� �Unencumbered space� means
usable space that is not encumbered by furnishing or fixtures.

���� �Square footage� means the
total square footage of the cell minus the square footage of fixtures and
equipment when all fixtures and equipment are in operational position.

���� b.��� The Department of
Corrections shall establish and implement standards for cell sizes in prison
housing units.� The standards shall meet or exceed the standards established by
the American Correctional Association.

���� c.���� Cells housing
incarcerated persons shall provide at a minimum, 35 square feet of unencumbered
space in a single-occupancy cell with a minimum ceiling height of eight feet.�
All multiple occupancy units shall provide a minimum of 25 square feet of
unencumbered space per occupant with a minimum ceiling height of eight feet.���

���� d.��� The Department of
Corrections shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the
purposes of this act.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the twenty-fifth month next following enactment. The
Department of Corrections may take such anticipatory action as necessary for
the timely implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the
Department of Corrections (department) to establish and implement standards for
cell sizes for all prison housing units.

���� This bill requires the
department to meet or exceed the standards pertaining cell sizes established by
the American Correctional Association.� Cells housing incarcerated persons are
required to provide at a minimum, 35 square feet of unencumbered space for a
single occupancy cell and a minimum of 25 square feet of unencumbered space for
a multiple occupancy cell, with a minimum ceiling height of eight feet.�

���� In a report issued in October
2024, the Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson recommended that legislation
be enacted to set minimum standards for habitability of prison housing units,
including the size of the cell. Furthermore, while the New Jersey Administrative
Code regulates the size of county jail cells, no minimum standard size for
State prison cells have been established yet.