Establishes "Police Body Camera Implementation Task Force" to study and make recommendations concerning use of body cameras by law enforcement agencies in this State.

A1670

ASSEMBLY, No. 1670

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblyman MICHAEL VENEZIA

District 34 (Essex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Verrelli and Assemblywoman Murphy

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes "Police Body Camera Implementation
Task Force" to study and make recommendations concerning use of body
cameras by law enforcement agencies in this State.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

establishing the �
Police
Body Camera Implementation Task Force.�

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

���� 1.��� a.�� There is
established a task force to be known as the �Police Body Camera Implementation
Task Force� whose charge shall be to study and make recommendations on the use
of body cameras by certain law enforcement officers in this State, including
but not limited to requirements for implementation and development of best
practices for the use of these cameras and rules for access to and use of body
camera recordings.� For the purposes of this act, �body camera� shall mean a
device worn by a law enforcement officer that electronically records audio and
video while the officer acts in the performance of the officer�s official
duties.��

���� b.��� The task force shall
consist of 17 members as follows:

���� (1)�� the Chair of the Senate
Law and Public Safety Committee;

���� (2)�� the Chair of the
Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee;

���� (3)�� the Attorney General or
a designee, who shall serve ex officio;

���� (4)�� the New Jersey Public
Defender or a designee, who shall serve ex officio;

���� (5)�� a representative of the
New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association, Inc.;

���� (6)�� a representative of the
New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police;

���� (7)�� a representative of the
New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police;

���� (8)�� a representative of the
County Prosecutors� Association of New Jersey;

���� (9)�� the Executive Director
of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey;

���� (10)��� a representative of
the Police Institute at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice;

���� (11)��� a representative of
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People;

���� (12)��� a public member
appointed by the Governor who is a law enforcement officer in a municipality
that currently utilizes body cameras;

���� (13)��� a public member
appointed by the Governor who is a victims� rights advocate;

���� (14)��� a member to be
appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;

���� (15)��� a member to be
appointed by the minority leader of the� General Assembly;

���� (16)��� a mayor representing
an urban municipality as designated by the President of the New Jersey State
League of Municipalities; and

���� (17)��� a mayor representing a
suburban municipality as designated by the President of the New Jersey State
League of Municipalities.

���� c.���� All appointments to the
task force shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of this act.�
Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The
Attorney General shall serve as the chair of the task force. The chair shall
appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the task force. The members of
the task force shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed, within
the limits of funds made available to the task force, for necessary travel
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

���� d.��� The chair shall call an
initial meeting of the task force within seven days of the appointment of a
majority of its members and hold hearings at the times and in the places it may
deem appropriate and necessary to fulfill its charge. The task force shall be
entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the
employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau,
commission or� agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its
purposes.

���� e.���� The task force may seek
the advice of experts, such as persons specializing in the fields of
criminology, psychology, education, criminal or family law, or other related
fields as deemed appropriate by the membership of the task force.

���� f.���� A report of the task
force�s findings and recommendations shall be submitted to the Governor and,
pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C:52:14-19.1), to the President of
the Senate and Speaker of the General Assembly no later than December 30, 2021.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall expire upon submission of the task force�s final
report to the Governor and Legislature.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes a
�Police Body Camera Implementation Task Force� to
study
and make recommendations on the use of body cameras by certain law enforcement
officers in this State including,� but not limited to, requirements for
implementation and development of best practices for the use of these cameras
and rules for access to and use of body camera recordings.

���� The bill defines a �body
camera� as a device worn by a law enforcement officer that electronically
records audio and video while the officer acts in the performance of the
officer�s official duties.

�� The 17-member task force under
the bill would be comprised of the following members:� (1) the Chair of the
Senate Law and Public Safety Committee; (2) the Chair of the Assembly Law and
Public Safety Committee; (3) the Attorney General or a designee, who shall
serve ex officio; (4) the New Jersey Public Defender or a designee, who shall
serve ex officio; (5) a representative of the New Jersey State Policemen's
Benevolent Association, Inc.; (6) a representative of the New Jersey Fraternal
Order of Police; (7) a representative of the New Jersey State Association of
Chiefs of Police; (8) a representative of the of the County Prosecutors�
Association of New Jersey; (9) the Executive Director of the American Civil
Liberties Union of New Jersey; (10) a representative of the Police Institute at
the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice; (11) a representative of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People; (12) a public member
appointed by the Governor who is a law enforcement officer in a municipality
that currently utilizes police body cameras; (13) a public member appointed by
the Governor who is a victims� rights advocate; (14) a member to be appointed
by the minority leader of the Senate; (15) a member to be appointed by the
minority leader of the� General Assembly; (16) a mayor representing an urban
municipality as designated by the President of the New Jersey League of
Municipalities; and (17) a mayor representing a suburban municipality as
designated by the President of the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

���� The bill requires the task
force appointments to be made within 30 days of the bill�s effective date.� The
Attorney General is to serve as the chair of the task force and is required to
appoint a secretary.� The chair is to call an initial meeting of the task force
within seven days of the appointment of a majority of its members and hold
hearings at the times and in the places it may deem appropriate and necessary
to fulfill its charge.� The task force may seek the advice of experts, such as
persons specializing in the fields of criminology, psychology, education,
criminal or family law, or other related fields.�

���� Under the bill, the task force
is required to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor
and the Legislature

no
later than December 30, 2021.