Suspends fines for certain first-time paperwork violations committed by small businesses.

A1480

ASSEMBLY, No. 1480

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ROY FREIMAN

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Dunn, Assemblyman Guardian and Assemblywoman
Morales

SYNOPSIS

���� Suspends fines for certain first-time paperwork
violations committed by small businesses.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

suspending fines for certain first-time
paperwork violations committed by small businesses and supplementing Title 52
of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.� a. �For any small business
that commits a paperwork violation of a requirement regarding the collection of
information by a State agency or regulatory authority, the State agency or
regulatory authority shall suspend any administrative fine or civil penalty to
be assessed against a business for the violation, if the paperwork violation is
a first-time offense, unless the State agency or authority determines:

���� (1)�� the violation has the
potential to cause serious harm to the public interest;

���� (2)�� failure to impose a fine
or penalty would impede or interfere with the detection of criminal activity;

���� (3)�� the violation is a
violation of a law concerning the assessment or collection of any tax, debt,
revenue, or receipt;

���� (4)�� the violation was not
corrected on or before the date that is six months after the date on which the
small business receives notification of the violation in writing from the
agency or authority; or

���� (5)�� except as provided in
subsection b. of this section, the violation presents a danger to the public
safety.

���� b.
If

a State agency or regulatory authority makes a determination
that a violation committed by a small business presents a danger to public
safety, the agency or authority shall have the discretion to determine whether
the imposition of a fine or penalty is appropriate if the violation is
corrected not later than 24 hours after the receipt by the owner of the small
business of notification of the violation in writing.

���� In determining whether to
allow a small business 24 hours to correct a violation under this subsection,
the agency or regulatory authority shall take into account all of the facts and
circumstances regarding the violation, including:

���� (1)�� the nature and
seriousness of the violation, including whether the violation is technical or
inadvertent or involves willful or criminal conduct;

���� (2)�� whether the small
business has made a good faith effort to comply with applicable laws and to
remedy the violation within the shortest practicable period of time; and

���� (3)�� whether the small
business has obtained a significant economic benefit from the violation.

���� c. �As used in this act,
�small business� means a business entity that employs not more than 50
full-time employees or the equivalent thereof and qualifies as a small business
concern within the meaning of the federal �Small Business Act,� Pub.L.85-536
(15 U.S.C. s.631 et seq.).

���� d. �This act shall not apply
to any violation by a small business of a requirement regarding collection of
information by a State agency or regulatory authority if the small business
previously violated any requirement regarding collection of information by the
agency or authority.

���� For purposes of making a
determination under this subsection, the State agency or regulatory authority
shall not take into account any violation of a requirement regarding collection
of information by another agency or regulatory authority.

���� e.���� A State agency or
authority shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be needed to
effectuate this section.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would suspend the
assessment of fines against small businesses for certain minor first-time
paperwork violations.� Under the bill, a small business means a business entity
that employs 50 full-time employees or fewer and qualifies as a small business
concern as defined in the federal �Small Business Act.�

���� Under the bill, a fine would
not be suspended if:

�

the violation has the potential to cause serious harm to the
public interest;

�

failure to impose a fine or penalty would impede or interfere
with the detection of criminal activity;

�

the violation concerns the assessment or collection of any tax,
debt, revenue, or receipt;

�

the violation was not corrected within six months of the date the
small business received notification of the violation; or

�

except as provided below, the violation presents a danger to
public safety.

���� If a State agency or
regulatory authority determines that the violation presents a danger to the
public safety, the agency or regulatory authority may nevertheless suspend the
assessment of a fine under certain circumstances if the violation is corrected
within 24 hours after notification to the business of the violation.

���� This bill is based upon a
federal bill that was sponsored in the 114th United States Congress, introduced
on January 7, 2015.� The federal bill provided for the suspension of fines
under certain circumstances for first-time paperwork violations by small businesses.