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A5037 • 2026

Permits county sheriffs to appoint special law enforcement officers.

Permits county sheriffs to appoint special law enforcement officers.

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Bailey, David, Jr.
Last action
2026-05-11
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.

Permits county sheriffs to appoint special law enforcement officers.

Permits county sheriffs to appoint special law enforcement officers.

What This Bill Does

  • Permits county sheriffs to appoint special law enforcement officers.
  • Topic: Public Safety and Preparedness 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. 2026-05-11 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee

Official Summary Text

Permits county sheriffs to appoint special law enforcement officers.
Topic:
Public Safety and Preparedness
Fiscal note:
This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A5037

ASSEMBLY, No. 5037

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 11, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� DAVID BAILEY, JR.

District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)

SYNOPSIS

���� Permits county sheriffs to appoint special law
enforcement officers.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning special law enforcement officers and
supplementing Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� a.� For the purposes of
P.L.1985, c.439 (C.40A:14-146.8 et seq.), a county sheriff shall be entitled to
act as a local unit and appoint any classification of special law enforcement
officers for the purposes set forth in P.L.1985, c.439 (C.40A:14-146.8 et seq.).

���� b.��� For purposes of this
section, a �local unit� means the same as that term is defined by section 2 of
P.L.1985, c.439 (C.40A:14-146.9).

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill permits the
appointment of Class One, Two, and Three special law enforcement officers (SLEOs)
by county sheriffs.

���� Under current law, a local
unit, which is defined as any municipality or county having established a
regular police force, may appoint SLEOs to perform certain duties.

���� Additionally, under current
law, a Class One SLEO handles routine traffic duties and may issue summonses
for disorderly persons offenses, municipal ordinances, and traffic violations
if authorized by local ordinance, but is prohibited from carrying firearms. �A Class
Two SLEO is authorized to exercise full police powers, including arrest
authority, and is authorized to carry firearms on duty provided they have
completed the required training and annual qualifications. �Class Three SLEOs
are retired law enforcement officers dedicated specifically to school security,
maintaining full police powers and firearm authorization while on school
premises during active hours.

���� This bill permits the
appointment of Class One, Two, and Three SLEOs by county sheriffs to perform
the duties that are authorized for each classification and in accordance with
certain requirements under current law.