Requires person convicted, or fleeing charge, of sex offense in foreign country to register under Megan's Law; requires law enforcement to inquire about immigration status of sex offenders and cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

A1446

ASSEMBLY, No. 1446

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ERIK K. SIMONSEN

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

Assemblyman ANTWAN L. MCCLELLAN

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Kanitra and McGuckin

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires person convicted, or fleeing charge, of sex
offense in foreign country to register under Megan's Law; requires law
enforcement to inquire about immigration status of sex offenders and cooperate
with federal immigration authorities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning sex offenders, amending P.L.1994, c.133, and
supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� Section 2 of P.L.1994,
c.133 (C.2C:7-2) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� a.�� (1)�� A person who
has been convicted, adjudicated delinquent or found not guilty by reason of
insanity for commission of a sex offense as defined in subsection b. of this
section shall register as provided in subsections c. and d. of this section.

���� (2)�� A person who in another
jurisdiction is required to register as a sex offender and (a) is enrolled on a
full-time or part-time basis in any public or private educational institution
in this State, including any secondary school, trade or professional institution,
institution of higher education or other post-secondary school, or (b) is
employed or carries on a vocation in this State, on either a full-time or a
part-time basis, with or without compensation, for more than 14 consecutive
days or for an aggregate period exceeding 30 days in a calendar year, shall
register in this State as provided in subsections c. and d. of this section.

���� (3)�� A person who fails to
register as required under this act shall be guilty of a crime of the third
degree.

���� b.��� For the purposes of this
act a sex offense shall include the following:

���� (1)�� Aggravated sexual
assault, sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, kidnapping
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:13-1 or an attempt to
commit any of these crimes if the court found that the offender's conduct was
characterized by a pattern of repetitive, compulsive behavior, regardless of
the date of the commission of the offense or the date of conviction;

���� (2)�� A conviction,
adjudication of delinquency, or acquittal by reason of insanity for aggravated
sexual assault; sexual assault; aggravated criminal sexual contact; kidnapping
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:13-1; endangering the
welfare of a child by engaging in sexual conduct which would impair or debauch
the morals of the child pursuant to subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:24-4; endangering
the welfare of a child pursuant to paragraph (3) or (4), subparagraph (a), or
sub-subparagraph (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (b) of paragraph (5) of subsection
b. of N.J.S.2C:24-4; luring or enticing pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1993,
c.291 (C.2C:13-6); criminal sexual contact pursuant to
[
N.J.S.2C:14-3b.
]

subsection
b. of N.J.S.2C:14-3
if the victim is a minor; kidnapping pursuant to
N.J.S.2C:13-1, criminal restraint pursuant to N.J.S.2C:13-2, or false
imprisonment pursuant to N.J.S.2C:13-3 if the victim is a minor and the
offender is not the parent of the victim; knowingly promoting prostitution of a
child pursuant to paragraph (3) or paragraph (4) of subsection b. of
N.J.S.2C:34-1; leader of a child pornography network pursuant to section 8 of
P.L.2017, c.141 (C.2C:24-4.1); or an attempt to commit any of these enumerated
offenses if the conviction, adjudication of delinquency or acquittal by reason
of insanity is entered on or after the effective date of this act or the
offender is serving a sentence of incarceration, probation, parole or other
form of community supervision as a result of the offense or is confined
following acquittal by reason of insanity or as a result of civil commitment on
the effective date of this act;

���� (3)�� A conviction,
adjudication of delinquency, or acquittal by reason of insanity for an offense
similar to any offense enumerated in paragraph (2) or a sentence on the basis
of criteria similar to the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of this
subsection entered or imposed under the laws of the United States, this State,
or another state
; or a charge, except when the charge was dismissed or the
person was found not guilty, conviction, adjudication of delinquency, or
acquittal by reason of insanity for an offense similar to any offense
enumerated in paragraph (2) or a sentence on the basis of criteria similar to
the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection entered or imposed
under the laws of any foreign government
.

���� (4)�� Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection, a sex offense
shall not include an adjudication of delinquency for endangering the welfare of
a child pursuant to paragraph (4) or (5) of subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:24-4, provided
that the actor demonstrates that:

���� (a)�� the facts of the case
are limited to the creation, exhibition or distribution of a photograph
depicting nudity or portraying a child in a sexually suggestive manner, as
defined in N.J.S.2C:24-4, through the use of an electronic communications
device, an interactive wireless communications device, or a computer;

���� (b)�� the creator and subject
of the photograph are juveniles or were juveniles at the time of its making;
and

���� (c)�� the subject of the
photograph whose nudity is depicted or who is portrayed in a sexually
suggestive manner, as the case may be, knowingly consented to the making of the
photograph.

���� c.���� A person required to
register under the provisions of this act shall do so on forms to be provided
by the designated registering agency as follows:

���� (1)�� A person who is required
to register and who is under supervision in the community on probation, parole,
furlough, work release, or a similar program, shall register at the time the
person is placed under supervision or no later than 120 days after the effective
date of this act, whichever is later, in accordance with procedures established
by the Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Services, the
Juvenile Justice Commission established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1995,
c.284 (C.52:17B-170) or the Administrative Office of the Courts, whichever is
responsible for supervision;

���� (2)�� A person confined in a
correctional or juvenile facility or involuntarily committed who is required to
register shall register prior to release in accordance with procedures
established by the Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Services
or the Juvenile Justice Commission and, within 48 hours of release, shall also
register with the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which
the person resides or, if the municipality does not have a local police force,
the Superintendent of State Police;

���� (3)�� A person moving to or
returning to this State from another jurisdiction shall register with the chief
law enforcement officer of the municipality in which the person will reside or,
if the municipality does not have a local police force, the Superintendent of
State Police within 120 days of the effective date of this act or 10 days of
first residing in or returning to a municipality in this State, whichever is
later;

���� (4)�� A person required to
register on the basis of a conviction prior to the effective date who is not
confined or under supervision on the effective date of this act shall register
within 120 days of the effective date of this act with the chief law enforcement
officer of the municipality in which the person will reside or, if the
municipality does not have a local police force, the Superintendent of State
Police;

���� (5)�� A person who in another
jurisdiction is required to register as a sex offender and who is enrolled on a
full-time or part-time basis in any public or private educational institution
in this State, including any secondary school, trade or professional institution,
institution of higher education or other post-secondary school shall, within
[
ten
]

10

days of commencing attendance at such educational institution, register with
the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which the educational
institution is located or, if the municipality does not have a local police
force, the Superintendent of State Police;

���� (6)�� A person who in another
jurisdiction is required to register as a sex offender and who is employed or
carries on a vocation in this State, on either a full-time or a part-time
basis, with or without compensation, for more than 14 consecutive days or for an
aggregate period exceeding 30 days in a calendar year, shall, within
[
ten
]

10

days after commencing such employment or vocation, register with the chief law
enforcement officer of the municipality in which the employer is located or
where the vocation is carried on, as the case may be, or, if the municipality
does not have a local police force, the Superintendent of State Police;

���� (7)�� In addition to any other
registration requirements set forth in this section, a person required to
register under this act who is enrolled at, employed by or carries on a
vocation at an institution of higher education or other post-secondary school
in this State shall, within 10 days after commencing such attendance,
employment or vocation, register with the law enforcement unit of the
educational institution, if the institution has such a unit.

���� d.��� (1)���� Upon a change of
address, a person shall notify the law enforcement agency with which the person
is registered and shall re-register with the appropriate law enforcement agency
no less than 10 days before he intends to first reside at his new address. Upon
a change of employment or school enrollment status, a person shall notify the
appropriate law enforcement agency no later than five days after any such
change.� A person who fails to notify the appropriate law enforcement agency of
a change of address or status in accordance with this subsection is guilty of a
crime of the third degree.

���� (2)�� A person required to
register under this act shall provide the appropriate law enforcement agency
with information as to whether the person has routine access to or use of a
computer or any other device with Internet capability. A person who fails to
notify the appropriate law enforcement agency of such information or of a
change in the person's access to or use of a computer or other device with
Internet capability or who provides false information concerning the person's
access to or use of a computer or any other device with Internet capability is
guilty of a crime of the third degree.

���� e.���� A person required to
register under paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section or under
paragraph (3) of subsection b. due to a sentence imposed on the basis of
criteria similar to the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of subsection b.
shall verify his address with the appropriate law enforcement agency every 90
days in a manner prescribed by the Attorney General.� A person required to
register under paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section or under
paragraph (3) of subsection b. on the basis of a conviction for an offense
similar to an offense enumerated in paragraph (2) of subsection b. shall verify
his address annually in a manner prescribed by the Attorney General.� In
addition to address information, the person shall provide as part of the
verification process any additional information the Attorney General may
require. One year after the effective date of this act, the Attorney General
shall review, evaluate and, if warranted, modify pursuant to the
"Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.)
the verification requirement.� Any person who knowingly provides false
information concerning his place of residence or who fails to verify his
address with the appropriate law enforcement agency or other entity, as
prescribed by the Attorney General in accordance with this subsection, is
guilty of a crime of the third degree.

���� f.���� Except as provided in
subsection g. of this section, a person required to register under this act may
make application to the Superior Court of this State to terminate the
obligation upon proof that the person has not committed an offense within 15
years following conviction or release from a correctional facility for any term
of imprisonment imposed, whichever is later, and is not likely to pose a threat
to the safety of others.

���� g.��� A person required to
register under this section who has been convicted of, adjudicated delinquent,
or acquitted by reason of insanity for more than one sex offense as defined in
subsection b. of this section or who has been convicted of, adjudicated delinquent,
or acquitted by reason of insanity for aggravated sexual assault pursuant to
subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:14-2 or sexual assault pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:14-2 is not eligible under subsection f. of this
section to make application to the Superior Court of this State to terminate
the registration obligation.

(cf: P.L.2017, c.141, s.3)

���� 2.��� (New section)��� a.�� As
used in this section:

���� �Federal
immigration authority� means any officer, employee, or person otherwise paid by
or acting as an agent of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

or United States Customs and
Border Protection,
or any division thereof, or any officer, employee, or
person otherwise paid by or acting as an agent of the United States Department
of Homeland Security who is charged with immigration enforcement.

���� �Immigration
enforcement� means any efforts to investigate, or enforce any federal civil
immigration law, and the investigation or enforcement of any federal criminal
immigration law that penalizes a person�s presence, entry, or employment in the
United States.

���� �Law
enforcement agency� means a State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency,
and State or county correctional facility.�

���� b.��� Every
county prosecutor shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agency when a
person has been convicted, adjudicated delinquent, or acquitted by reason of
insanity for the commission of a sex offense as defined in subsection b. of
section 2 of P.L.1994, c.133 (C.2C:7-2). Upon notification, the law enforcement
agency shall inquire about the immigration status of the person who has been
convicted.�

���� For
the purposes of this subsection, the appropriate law enforcement agency is the
correctional facility in which the convicted person is held or, if the
convicted person is not in the custody of a correctional facility, the agency
or official best suited to notify and cooperate with federal immigration
authorities with respect to the convicted person, including but not limited to
any parole or probation officer with a supervisory role over the convicted
person or the State, county, or local police department with jurisdiction over
the convicted person�s place of residence.

���� �c.��� If,
based upon the inquiry required pursuant to subsection b. of this section, a
law enforcement agency is unable to confirm that the sex offender�s presence in
the United States is authorized under federal law, the law enforcement agency
shall provide notification to a federal immigration authority and shall
cooperate with any immigration enforcement initiated by the federal immigration
authority, including but not limited to:

���� (1)�� participating
in civil immigration enforcement operations;

���� (2)�� providing
any non-public personally identifying information regarding an individual;

���� (3)�� providing
access to any State, county, or local law enforcement equipment, office space,
database, or property not available to the general public;

���� (4)�� providing
access to a detained individual for an interview;

���� (5)�� providing
notice of a detained individual�s upcoming release from custody; and

���� (6)�� continuing
the detention of an individual past the time the individual would otherwise be
eligible for release from custody based solely on a civil immigration detainer
request.

���� �d.�� Upon
inquiry by a federal immigration authority, a law enforcement agency shall
cooperate with any immigration enforcement initiated by a federal immigration
authority in the case of a person who has registered because that person was
convicted of a sex offense as defined in section 2 of P.L.1994, c.133
(C.2C:7-2) under the laws of any foreign government, or was charged with a sex
offense and absconded from that jurisdiction prior to the charge being
adjudicated or resolved, and the law enforcement agency is unable to confirm
that the sex offender�s presence in the United States is authorized under
federal law.� This cooperation shall include, but not be limited to:

���� (1)�� participating
in civil immigration enforcement operations;

���� (2)�� providing
any non-public personally identifying information regarding an individual;

���� (3)�� providing
access to any State, county, or local law enforcement equipment, office space,
database, or property not available to the general public;

���� (4)�� providing
access to a detained individual for an interview;

���� (5)�� providing
notice of a detained individual�s upcoming release from custody; and

���� (6)�� continuing
the detention of an individual past the time the individual would otherwise be
eligible for release from custody based solely on a civil immigration detainer
request.

���� If
a law enforcement agency has knowledge that a sex offender who has registered
with that law enforcement agency was convicted of a sex offense as defined in
section 2 of P.L.1994, c.133 (C.2C:7-2) under the laws of any foreign
government, or was charged with a sex offense by a foreign government and
absconded from that jurisdiction prior to the charge being adjudicated or
resolved, and the law enforcement agency is unable to confirm that the sex
offender�s presence in the United States is authorized under federal law, the
law enforcement agency shall provide notification to a federal immigration
authority.

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the fourth month after enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires persons who
have been convicted, or fled a charge, of a sex offense in a foreign country to
register as a sex offender under Megan�s Law under certain circumstances.� In
addition, contrary to a recent directive issued by the New Jersey Attorney
General, the bill requires law enforcement agencies to inquire about the
immigration status of a convicted sex offender and notify and cooperate with
federal immigration authorities when the law enforcement agency is unable to
confirm that the sex offender�s presence in the United States is authorized
under federal law.

���� Under current State law, a
person who is convicted, adjudicated delinquent, or acquitted by reason of
insanity under the laws of the United States, this State, or another state of
an offense similar to those classified as sex offenses under current law is
required to register as a sex offender.�

���� This bill expands the
requirement to register in this State as a sex offender to also include persons
who were convicted, adjudicated delinquent, or acquitted by reason of insanity
under the laws of any foreign government of an offense similar to those classified
as sex offenses under current law, and persons who were charged with such
offenses by a foreign government, but fled the jurisdiction prior to the
adjudication of those charges.

���� The Attorney General Directive
No. 2018-6 generally prohibits State, county, and municipal law enforcement
agencies from providing certain types of assistance to federal immigration
authorities charged with enforcing federal civil immigration law, with certain
limited exceptions.� The directive also prohibits, with certain limited
exceptions, a State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency from inquiring
about the immigration status of any individual.� Furthermore, the directive
does not mandate that law enforcement officials provide assistance in any
particular circumstance, even when, under the limited exceptions of the
directive, they are permitted to do so.� Thus, when an offender who is not
authorized to be in the United States has been convicted of a Megan�s Law
offense, under the directive, local law enforcement is under no obligation to
cooperate with federal authorities that may be seeking to enforce federal
immigration laws with respect to that offender.

���� In contrast to the directive,
the bill requires every county prosecutor to notify the appropriate law
enforcement agency when a person has been convicted, adjudicated delinquent, or
acquitted by reason of insanity for the commission of a sex offense, as defined
under current law.� Upon notification, the law enforcement agency is required
to inquire about the immigration status of the person who has been convicted.

���� The bill provides that if,
based upon the inquiry required by the bill, a law enforcement agency is unable
to confirm that the person�s presence in the United States is authorized under
federal law, the law enforcement agency is to provide notification to a federal
immigration authority.�

���� Under the bill, the law
enforcement agency also is to cooperate with any immigration enforcement
initiated by the federal immigration authority, which includes but is not
limited to: (1) participating in civil immigration enforcement operations with
respect to the sex offender; (2) providing any non-public personally
identifying information regarding the sex offender; (3) providing access to any
State, county, or local law enforcement equipment, office space, database, or
property not available to the general public; (4) providing access to a
detained sex offender for an interview; (5) providing notice of a detained sex
offender�s upcoming release from custody; and (6) continuing the detention of a
sex offender past the time the sex offender would otherwise be eligible for
release from custody when presented with a civil immigration detainer request.

���� Finally, the bill requires the
cooperation of a New Jersey law enforcement agency with any immigration
enforcement upon an inquiry by a federal immigration authority concerning a
registered sex offender convicted of a sex offense by a foreign government, or
who was charged with a sex offense by a foreign government and absconded from
that jurisdiction prior to the charge being adjudicated or resolved, and if the
law enforcement agency is unable to confirm that the sex offender�s presence in
the United States is authorized under federal law.� This cooperation is to
include, but not be limited to, participating in civil immigration enforcement
operations; providing any non-public personally identifying information
regarding an individual; providing access to any State, county, or local law
enforcement equipment, office space, database, or property not available to the
general public; providing access to a detained individual for an interview;
providing notice of a detained individual�s upcoming release from custody; and
continuing the detention of an individual past the time the individual would
otherwise be eligible for release from custody based solely on a civil
immigration detainer request.� The bill further requires a law enforcement
agency that registers a sex offender and has knowledge that the sex offender
was (1) convicted by a foreign government, or (2) charged with a sex offense by
a foreign government and absconded prior to the charges being adjudicated or
resolved, to provide notification to a federal immigration authority if the
agency is unable to confirm that the sex offender�s presence in the United
States is authorized under federal law.

���� It is the sponsor�s firmly
held belief that because sex offenders pose a grave danger to public safety,
especially for women and children, law enforcement officials should be required
to cooperate with immigration enforcement actions initiated by a federal
immigration authority, in order to ensure that dangerous predators are not
permitted to find safe harbor in New Jersey.