Establishes database containing information on traffic stops by certain law enforcement officers.

S3486

SENATE, No. 3486

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� JAMES BEACH

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes database containing information on
traffic stops by certain law enforcement officers.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning the collection of data from traffic stops
and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� a.� The Attorney General
shall establish and maintain a central, searchable database of information
pertaining to traffic law enforcement by State and local law enforcement
officers.

���� b.��� Information contained
within the database shall be subject to potential disclosure under P.L.1963,
c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), known commonly as the open public records act.

���� c.���� The database shall be
publicly available on the website of the Department of Law and Public Safety.

���� d.��� The Attorney General may
promulgate guidelines to effectuate the provisions of this act.

���� 2.��� All State and local
police shall submit a quarterly report to the Attorney General containing the
following information which shall be entered in the database established in
section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill):

���� a.���� the number of drivers
stopped for routine traffic enforcement by law enforcement officers, the
officer making each stop, the date each stop was made, the law enforcement
agency of the officer making each stop, and whether or not a citation or
warning was issued;

���� b.��� identifying
characteristics of the drivers stopped, including the race or ethnicity,
approximate age, and gender;

���� c.���� the alleged traffic
violation that led to the stop;

���� d.��� whether a search was
instituted as a result of the stop;

���� e.���� whether the vehicle,
personal effects, driver, or passenger were searched, and the race or
ethnicity, approximate age, and gender of each person searched;

���� f.���� whether the search was
conducted pursuant to consent, probable cause, or a warrant, including the
basis for the request for consent, the circumstances establishing probable
cause, or the basis for the warrant;

���� g.��� whether any contraband
was found and the type and amount of any such contraband;

���� h.��� whether any written
citation or any oral or written warning was issued as a result of the stop;

���� i.���� whether an arrest was
made as a result of either the stop or the search;

���� j.���� whether any property
was seized, with a description of that property;

���� k.��� whether the officers
making the stop encountered any physical resistance from the driver or a
passenger;

���� l.���� whether the officers
making the stop engaged in the use of force against the driver or a passenger
for any reason;

���� m.�� whether any injuries
resulted from the stop;

���� n.��� whether the
circumstances surrounding the stop were the subject of any investigation, and
the results of that investigation; and

���� o.��� the geographic location
of the stop; if the officer making the stop is a member of the New Jersey State
Police, the location shall be the field operation section, including troop and
station; for all other law enforcement officers, the location shall be the
municipality and county in which the stop was made.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill would require the
Attorney General to establish a public, searchable database of information
pertaining to traffic law enforcement by State and local law enforcement
officers.�

���� The information entered in the
database will include the driver�s identifying characteristics, such as race or
ethnicity, approximate age, and gender, and will pertain to all interactions
with traffic law enforcement, even those stops that result only in an oral
warning.�

���� The wide range of specific
information in this database will enable greater public oversight of traffic
law enforcement practices by providing a tool to prevent pernicious enforcement
of these laws, including racial and gender profiling.�