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S3922
SENATE, No. 3922
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 12, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
Senator� CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.
District 9 (Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators A.M.Bucco and Stack
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes Hope Card Program to provide victims of
domestic violence with restraining order quick reference wallet card; makes
appropriation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning domestic violence central registry
information, and amending and supplementing P.L.1999, c.421.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1. �Section 1 of P.L.1999,
c.421 (C.2C:25-34) is amended to read as follows:
���� 1.��� The Administrative
Office of the Courts shall establish and maintain a central registry of all
persons who have had domestic violence restraining orders entered against them,
all persons who have been charged with a crime or offense involving domestic violence,
and all persons who have been charged with a violation of a court order
involving domestic violence.� All records made pursuant to this section shall
be kept confidential and shall be released only to:
���� a.���� A public agency
authorized to investigate a report of domestic violence;
���� b.��� A police or other law
enforcement agency investigating a report of domestic violence, or conducting a
background investigation involving a person�s application for a firearm permit
or employment as a police or law enforcement officer or for any other purpose
authorized by law or the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey;
���� c.���� A court,
for the
purpose of issuing a Hope Card pursuant to the Hope Card Program established by
section 2 of P.L.���� , c.���� (C.���� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill), or
upon its finding that access to such records may be
necessary for determination of an issue before the court;
���� d.��� A surrogate, in that
person�s official capacity as deputy clerk of the Superior Court, in order to
prepare documents that may be necessary for a court to determine an issue in an
adoption proceeding;
[
or
]
���� e.���� The Division of Child
Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families when the
division is conducting a background investigation involving:
���� (1)�� an allegation of child
abuse or neglect, to include any adult member of the same household as the
individual who is the subject of the abuse or neglect allegation; or
���� (2)�� an out-of-home placement
for a child being placed by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, to
include any adult member of the prospective placement household
; or
����
f. A person protected by a
domestic violence restraining order, pursuant to the Hope Card Program
established by section 2 of P.L. , c.���� (C.����
) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
.
����
[
Any
]
Except as provided by subsection
d. of section 2 of P.L. , �c.���� (C.���� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), any
individual, agency,
surrogate, or court which receives from the Administrative Office of the Courts
the records referred to in this section shall keep the records and reports, or
parts thereof, confidential and shall not disseminate or disclose such records
and reports, or parts thereof; provided that nothing in this section shall
prohibit a receiving individual, agency, surrogate or court from disclosing
records and reports, or parts thereof, in a manner consistent with and in
furtherance of the purpose for which the records and reports or parts thereof
were received.
����
[
Any
]
Except as provided by subsection
d. of section 2 of P.L. , c.���� (C.���� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), any
individual who
disseminates or discloses a record or report, or parts thereof, of the central
registry, for a purpose other than investigating a report of domestic violence,
conducting a background investigation involving a person�s application for a firearm
permit or employment as a police or law enforcement officer, making a
determination of an issue before the court, conducting a background
investigation as specified in subsection e. of this section, or for any other
purpose other than that which is authorized by law or the Supreme Court of the
State of New Jersey, shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
(cf: P.L.2012, c.16, s.9)
���� 2. �(New section) a. (1) The Administrative
Office of the Courts shall develop and implement the Hope Card Program in all
Superior Courts of this State.� The program shall provide for the issuance of a
Hope Card at no cost to any person protected by a final domestic violence
restraining order.� The Hope Card shall be issued, upon request, as soon as
practicable following entry of a final restraining order, which shall not
exceed 10 business days. �A parent or guardian with custody of a minor child
protected by a final restraining order shall be entitled to receive a Hope Card
for each protected child.� The Administrative Office of the Courts shall
develop and maintain methods to request a Hope Card through its website and
through printed forms available in all Superior Courts.
���� (2) �The Hope Card shall not
replace or supersede a final domestic violence restraining order, and any
person investigating a report of domestic violence committed against a person
who has been issued a Hope Card pursuant to this section shall be required to verify
the information contained on the Hope Card with the domestic violence central
registry pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1999, c.421 (C.2C:25-34).� A Hope Card
shall remain the property of the State.
���� (3) �A Hope Card issued
pursuant to the program shall be a laminated, durable, plastic, wallet-sized
card containing, to the extent possible, essential information about the final
restraining order, such as the court of issuance, date of issuance, and case
number; the identifying information and characteristics of the defendant; the
terms of the restraining order, including any firearms restrictions; and the
names of all persons protected by the restraining order.� The Administrative
Office of the Courts shall consult with the Attorney General, the Advisory
Council on Domestic Violence, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of
Police, and other knowledgeable persons or organizations as directed by the
Administrative Director of the Courts, concerning the design of the Hope Card,
which may be modified from time to time.
���� b. �In addition to any other
violation of law which may be charged, theft, defacement, alteration, or
falsification of a Hope Card by the defendant subject to the restraining order
shall be a contempt of court in the fourth degree pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subsection b. of section 34 of P.L.1981, c.290 (C.2C:29-9).
���� c. �Upon the modification of
the terms of a final restraining order, a person who has been issued a Hope
Card may request and updated Hope Card pursuant to subsection a. of this
section.� Upon the dissolution of a final restraining order, a Hope Card issued
pursuant to the restraining order shall be returned to the issuing court within
10 business days.
���� d. �Notwithstanding the
provisions of section 1 of P.L.1999, c.421 (C.2C:25-34) concerning the receipt,
use, dissemination, and disclosure of domestic violence central registry
information, a person who has been issued a Hope Card may disclose, and a
person who is presented with a Hope Card may use, the information contained on
the card for any lawful purpose in furtherance of receiving or providing
services for victims of domestic violence or for the enforcement of the
restraining order.� However, any person who receives information contained on a
Hope Card shall take all reasonable measures to preserve confidentiality.
���� e. �In addition to, and as
part of, the domestic violence training required pursuant to section 4 of
P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-20), the Attorney General and the Administrative
Director of the Courts shall ensure that all law enforcement officers,
prosecutors, judges, and court personnel required to receive domestic violence
training also receive appropriate training on the implementation of the
Program.� The Supreme Court of New Jersey may adopt any Rules of Court
necessary to implement and operate the Program.
���� f. �There is appropriated
annually from the General Fund to the Judiciary such funds as shall be
necessary for the implementation of this section, as certified by the Administrative
Director of the Courts, and subject to the approval of the Director of the
Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury.
���� 3. �This act shall take effect
on the first day of the 13th month next following enactment, except that the
Attorney General and the Administrative Director of the Courts may take such
anticipatory action as may be necessary for the timely implementation of this
act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes the Hope
Card Program in New Jersey.� Under the bill, a victim of domestic violence who
obtains a final restraining order may request a Hope Card from the court at no
cost.� The Hope Card is a laminated, durable, plastic, wallet-sized card
containing essential information about the restraining order, such as the court
of issuance, date of issuance, and case number; the identifying information and
characteristics of the defendant; the terms of the restraining order, including
any firearms restrictions; and the names of all persons protected by the restraining
order.�
���� The Hope Card is intended to
provide persons protected by a final restraining order with a convenient and
portable means of carrying their restraining order information, which may be
quickly and easily presented to law enforcement, if necessary.� Under the bill,
a law enforcement officer presented with a Hope Card shall verify the
information with the State�s domestic violence central registry as part of any
domestic violence investigation.� The bill provides that a person who is issued
a Hope Card is exempt from the confidentiality restrictions that would
otherwise apply to information from the domestic violence central registry.�
However, the bill requires any person who receives information contained on a
Hope Card to take all reasonable measures to preserve confidentiality.� The
bill provides that the Administrative Office of the Courts will develop both an
online and a paper-based method to request a Hope Card.� The bill also provides
that the Administrative Office of the Courts will consult with the Attorney
General, the Advisory Council on Domestic Violence, the New Jersey State
Association of Chiefs of Police, and other knowledgeable persons or
organizations concerning the design of the card.� The bill further requires the
Attorney General and the Administrative Director of the Courts to provide
training to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and court personnel
on the implementation of the program.�
���� The bill additionally provides
that theft, defacement, or alteration of a Hope Card by the defendant subject
to the restraining order is deemed a contempt of court in the fourth degree.� A
crime of the fourth degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18
months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
���� Finally, the bill provides for
an annual appropriation to the Judiciary for the implementation of the
program.� According to information provided by the Virginia Supreme Court, the
initial cost of the Virginia Hope Card Program was approximately $307,000.
���� The Hope Card Program under
this bill is modeled on similar programs now in effect in the states of
Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and
Washington.