Prohibits harassment of farmers engaged in farming operations.

A4878

ASSEMBLY, No. 4878

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 4, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits harassment of farmers engaged in farming
operations.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning harassment of farmers and
supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.

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

����
1.��� As used in this act:

���� �Agricultural products� includes crops, dairy
animals, livestock, fur-bearing animals, poultry, bees, aquacultural products,
horticultural products, and trees and forest products.

���� �Farmer� means any person engaged in the
commercial growing, harvesting, producing, or raising of agricultural products.

���� 2.��� No person may, for the purpose of
hindering or preventing the lawful farming of agricultural products, harass,
bother, or otherwise interfere with a farmer engaged in farming operations.

���� This section shall not apply to a law
enforcement officer enforcing the laws of this State or any local ordinance.

���� 3.��� a.� The Secretary of
Agriculture may institute a civil action in the Superior Court for injunctive
and other relief for a violation of this act, and the court may proceed in the
action in a summary manner.�

���� b.��� A person who violates
this act shall be guilty of a petty disorderly persons offense; however, for a
second or subsequent violation, the person shall be guilty of a disorderly
persons offense.

���� c.���� A person who violates
this act shall be liable to a civil penalty of not less than $250 nor more than
$500 for each offense, to be collected in a summary proceeding under the
�Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,� P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).� The
Superior Court and the municipal court for the municipality in which the
violation occurred shall have jurisdiction to enforce the �Penalty Enforcement
Law of 1999.��

���� d.��� For the purposes of
subsections b. and c. of this section, if the violation is of a continuing
nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute an additional,
separate, and distinct offense.�

���� e.���� In addition to bringing
a civil action for injunctive relief or any other relief provided by law, a
person who is adversely affected by a violation of this act may bring a civil
action for damages, including punitive damages and special damages, against the
violator.� Special damages may include, but need not be limited to, lost
profits and the cost of damages to any farmland, supplies, equipment, and
agricultural products caused by the activities of the violator.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits harassing,
bothering, or otherwise interfering with a farmer engaged in farming operations
for the purpose of hindering or preventing the lawful farming of agricultural
products. For the purposes of this bill, agricultural products include, but are
not limited to,
crops,
dairy animals, livestock, fur-bearing animals, poultry, bees, aquacultural
products, trees, and forest products.�

���� A person who harasses a farmer would be guilty
of a petty disorderly persons offense, the penalty for which is imprisonment
for up to 30 days, a fine of up to $500, or both imprisonment and a fine.� For
a second or subsequent offense, the violator would be guilty of a disorderly
persons offense, punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up
to $1,000, or both imprisonment and a fine.� A violator would also be subject
to a civil penalty of between $250 and $500 for each violation.� If the violation
is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues would constitute
a separate offense.� The Secretary of Agriculture would be authorized to seek
injunctive and other relief against a violator.

���� The bill also provides that a person who is
adversely affected by a violation would be able to bring a civil action for
injunctive and other relief as well as for damages, including punitive damages
and special damages, against the violator.� Special damages would include, but
need not be limited to,

lost profits and the cost of damages to
farmland, supplies, equipment, and agricultural products caused by the
activities of the violator.