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A4316 • 2026

Requires emergency shelters for the homeless to admit certain persons unless they pose danger.

Requires emergency shelters for the homeless to admit certain persons unless they pose danger.

Housing
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Speight, Shanique
Last action
2026-02-19
Official status
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing 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 emergency shelters for the homeless to admit certain persons unless they pose danger.

Requires emergency shelters for the homeless to admit certain persons unless they pose danger.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires emergency shelters for the homeless to admit certain persons unless they pose danger.
  • Topic: Housing Fiscal note: This bill has not 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. 2026-02-19 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee

Official Summary Text

Requires emergency shelters for the homeless to admit certain persons unless they pose danger.
Topic:
Housing
Fiscal note:
This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A4316

ASSEMBLY, No. 4316

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires emergency shelters for the homeless to admit
certain persons unless they pose danger.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning emergency shelters for the homeless and
amending P.L.2013, c.203.

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

���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.2013,
c.203 (C.55:13C-2.1) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.���
a.
� No person
shall be refused admittance to an emergency shelter for the homeless based on a
perception or belief that the person
: (1)
has a mental illness
; (2)
is a drug or alcohol dependent person, as defined in N.J.S.2C:35-2; (3) is not
in compliance with a prescription medication regimen; or (4) has consumed
alcoholic beverages off the premises,
unless there is a reasonable basis to
believe that the person poses a danger to self, others, or property, or if the
basis for the refusal is otherwise authorized by law or regulation.

����
b.��� Nothing in subsection
a. of this section shall prohibit an emergency shelter for the homeless from
prohibiting the possession or consumption of controlled dangerous substances,
as defined in N.J.S.2C:35-2, or alcoholic beverages on the premises.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.203, s.1)

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits emergency
shelters for the homeless from restricting access to the shelter based on a
perception or belief that a person is: (1) a drug or alcohol dependent person;
(2) not in compliance with a prescription medication regimen; or (3) has
consumed alcoholic beverages off the premises of the shelter.

���� Current law prohibits
emergency homeless shelters from refusing admittance to a person who is
perceived or believed to have a mental illness.� This bill expands the
prohibition to include other members of vulnerable populations in need of
shelter.� Current law also provides that a shelter may prohibit admittance if
there is a reasonable basis to believe that the person poses a danger to self,
others, or property, or if the basis for the refusal is otherwise authorized by
law or regulation.� Under the bill, shelters would continue to have the
authority to refuse admittance in these circumstances.

���� Finally, the bill provides
that shelters are authorized to prohibit the possession or consumption of
controlled dangerous substances and alcoholic beverages on the premises.