Requires youth and sports organizations to obtain criminal history record background checks of certain volunteers, employees and organizers.*

S4043 S3016 SCS SLP Statement 6/11/26

SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR

SENATE, Nos.
4043 and 3016

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:
�JUNE
11, 2026

����� The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports
favorably a Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill Nos. 4043 and 3016.

����� This committee substitute expands the criminal history
record background check requirement for current or prospective employees,
volunteers, and organizers of youth serving organizations.� The committee substitute
defines �youth serving organization� as a sports team, league, athletic
association, any person or organization that provides private athletic lessons,
or any other corporation, private or non-profit association or other
organization that provides recreational, cultural, charitable, social or other
activities or services for persons under 18 years of age.� The term �youth
serving organization� does not include public and nonpublic schools and licensed
youth camps.

����� Under current law, a nonprofit youth serving
organization may request, through the Department of Law and Public Safety, that
the State Bureau of Identification (SBI) in the Division of State Police
conduct a criminal history record background check on a prospective or current
employee or volunteer of an organization.�

����� This committee substitute expands current law to
require these youth serving organizations to conduct criminal history record
background checks and also requires for-profit youth servicing entities to
conduct these checks. �Additionally, each employee, volunteer, or organizer of
a youth serving organization would be required to have a criminal history
record background check conducted yearly.� An employee, volunteer, or organizer
who has received a criminal history record background check or its equivalent, including
background checks utilized by national and international athletic associations
dedicated to youth sports, would not be required to obtain an additional
background check during the same calendar year that the person is employed or
volunteers with a youth serving organization.� The committee substitute authorizes
the Attorney General to report the results of the criminal history background
check to the youth serving organization.

����� The committee substitute also establishes civil
penalties for youth serving organizations that fail to request a criminal
history background check.� Additionally, a youth serving organization that
fails to request a criminal history record background check would be subject to
a civil penalty for each offense of up to $500 for a first offense, up to $750
for a second offense, and up to $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense.�

����� The committee substitute provides that an employee, volunteer,
or organizer who participates in youth serving organization with the knowledge
that the employee, volunteer, or organizer is disqualified from participating
in the organization based on criminal history would be guilty of a fourth
degree crime.� In addition, it would be a crime of the fourth degree for an
organizer, coach, or any other person working in association with a youth
serving organization to disregard results of a criminal history background
check or fail to obtain a criminal history background check knowing that an
employee, volunteer, or organizer of the organization is disqualified from
participating in the organization.� A crime of the fourth degree is punishable
by a term of imprisonment for not more than 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000,
or both.

����� The provisions of the committee substitute do not
apply to a county or municipal government that has adopted an ordinance, rule,
regulation, resolution, or personnel policy requiring annual criminal history
record background checks of all employees, volunteers, and organizers who have
contact with persons under 18 years of age through recreation, park, cultural,
social, or athletic activities sponsored, operated, or administered by the
county or municipality.

����� Within three years, the committee substitute requires
the Attorney General to perform an audit of information obtained from
conducting criminal history record background checks with regard to youth
serving organizations no later than three years following enactment.� The
results of the audit are to be reported to the Governor and Legislature no
later than six months following the commencement of the audit.