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A1736 • 2026

Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing mask or disguise while interacting with public.

Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing mask or disguise while interacting with public.

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Reynolds-Jackson, Verlina
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.

Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing mask or disguise while interacting with public.

Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing mask or disguise while interacting with public.

What This Bill Does

  • Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing mask or disguise while interacting with public.
  • 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

Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing mask or disguise while interacting with public.
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 
A1736

ASSEMBLY, No. 1736

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)

Assemblywoman ALIXON COLLAZOS-GILL

District 27 (Essex and Passaic)

Assemblyman GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ

District 33 (Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Venezia and Stewart

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing mask
or disguise while interacting with public.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning law enforcement officers 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.� a.� As used in this
section, �law enforcement officer� means a member of any federal, State, county
or municipal law enforcement agency, department, or division of those
governments who is statutorily empowered to act for the detection,
investigation, arrest, conviction, detention, or rehabilitation of persons
violating the laws of this State or of the United States.

���� b.� Except as provided in
subsection c. of this section, a law enforcement officer shall not wear a mask
or disguise while interacting with the public in the performance of the
officer�s official duties.

���� c.� Subsection b. of this
section shall not be applicable to a law enforcement officer who is:

���� (1)� engaged in an undercover
assignment;

���� (2)� wearing a shield that
does not conceal the officer�s face to protect the officer�s face from harm;

���� (3)� wearing a medical grade
mask or N95 respirator designed to prevent the transmission of disease and has
obtained a statement from a licensed physician that the mask or respirator is
necessary to protect the health of the officer; or

���� (4)� wearing a mask for
protection against exposure to smoke during a State of Emergency.

���� d.� A law enforcement officer
who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a disorderly
persons offense.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits the
wearing of any mask or disguise by a law enforcement officer while interacting
with the public in the performance of the officer�s official duties.�

���� The bill�s provisions are not
applicable to a law enforcement officer who is: engaged in an undercover
assignment; wearing a shield that does not conceal the officer�s face to
protect the officer�s face from harm; wearing a medical grade mask or N95 respirator
to prevent disease if the officer has obtained a statement from a licensed
physician; or wearing a mask for protection against exposure to smoke during a
State of Emergency.

���� A law enforcement officer who
violates the provisions of the bill is guilty of a disorderly persons offense,
which is punishable by a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to six months imprisonment,
or both.

���� The bill defines a �law
enforcement officer� as a member of any federal, State, county or municipal law
enforcement agency, department, or division of those governments who is
statutorily empowered to act for the detection, investigation, arrest,
conviction, or detention of persons violating the laws of this State or of the
United States.