Requires certain law enforcement officers be periodically vetted for evidence of personal bias.

S3760

SENATE, No. 3760

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires certain law enforcement officers be
periodically vetted for evidence of personal bias.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning 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.� A State, county, or
municipal police department or force, as applicable, shall conduct a personal
bias check of a law enforcement officer employed by a State or local unit.� The
personal bias check shall be conducted upon hiring the law enforcement officer
and every five years thereafter.� The personal bias check shall include, but
not be limited to:

���� (1)�� a review of any publicly
accessible information pertaining to the law enforcement officer that
demonstrates:

���� (a)�� evidence of personal
bias or prejudice held by the law enforcement officer against a person or group
by reason of the person�s or group�s race, color, religion, gender, disability,
sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, or ethnicity;
and

���� (b)�� evidence of involvement
or affiliation by the law enforcement officer with an extremist group; and

���� (2)�� the administration of a
test, developed in consultation with the appropriate testing professional, that
is designed to identify bias, including, but not limited to, explicit and
implicit bias against a person or group by reason of the person�s or group�s
race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity
or expression, national origin, or ethnicity.

���� b.��� As used in this section:

���� �Extremist group� means a
group that utilizes the unlawful use or threat of force in furtherance of an
ideological agenda derived from bias against a person or group or
anti-government or anti-authority sentiment, including opposition to perceived
economic, social, or racial hierarchies, or perceived government overreach,
negligence, or illegitimacy.�

���� �Law enforcement officer�
means a person whose public duties include the power to act as an officer for
the detection, apprehension, arrest, and conviction of offenders against the
laws of this State.

���� c.���� The Attorney General
shall promulgate guidelines and procedures to effectuate the provisions of this
section.�

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the fourth month next following enactment, but the
Attorney General may take any anticipatory administrative action necessary to
implement the provisions of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires certain law
enforcement officers to be periodically vetted for evidence of personal bias.

���� Under the bill, a State,
county, or municipal police department or force, as applicable, is required to
conduct a personal bias check of a law enforcement officer employed by that
State or local unit.� The personal bias check is to be conducted upon hiring
the law enforcement officer and every five years thereafter.

���� The personal bias check is
required to include, but not be limited to, a review of any publicly accessible
information pertaining to the law enforcement officer that demonstrates: (1)
evidence of personal bias or prejudice held by the law enforcement officer
against a person or group by reason of the person�s or group�s race, color,
religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or
expression, national origin, or ethnicity; and (2) evidence of involvement or
affiliation by the law enforcement officer with an extremist group.

���� The personal bias check is
also required to include the administration of a test, developed in
consultation with the appropriate testing professional, that is designed to
identify bias, including, but not limited to, explicit and implicit bias
against a person or group by reason of the person or group�s race, color,
religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or
expression, national origin, or ethnicity.�

���� The bill defines �extremist
group� to mean a group that utilizes the unlawful use or threat of force in
furtherance of an ideological agenda derived from bias against a person or
group or anti-government or anti-authority sentiment, including opposition to
perceived economic, social, or racial hierarchies, or perceived government
overreach, negligence, or illegitimacy.