Establishes task force on missing women and girls who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

SJR100

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

No. 100

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes task force on missing women and girls who
are Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A Joint
Resolution
establishing a task force on missing women and girls who are
Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

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

���� 1.��� There is established a
task force on missing women and girls who are Black, Indigenous, or people of
color (BIPOC).

���� a.���� The task force shall
consist of 15 members, to be appointed as follows:

���� (1) �the Attorney General or
the Attorney General�s designee, who shall serve ex officio;

���� (2) �the Commissioner of the
Department of Children and Families or the commissioner�s designee, who shall
serve ex officio;

���� (3) �the Commissioner of the
Department of Health or the commissioner�s designee, who shall serve ex
officio;

���� (4) �the Superintendent of
State Police or the superintendent�s designee, who shall serve ex officio;

���� (5) �the Director of the
Division of Criminal Justice or the director�s designee, who shall serve ex
officio;

���� (6) �two members to be
appointed by the President of the Senate;

���� (7) �two members to be
appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;

���� (8) �two members to be
appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly;

���� (9) �two members to be
appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly; and

���� (10) �two members to be
appointed by the Governor.

���� Appointed members shall be
representative of the communities impacted by this crisis, including
individuals who have been directly impacted.

���� b.��� Any vacancy in the
membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner in which the
original appointment was made.� Any member who shall miss three consecutive
meetings of the task force without good cause shall be deemed to have forfeited
and vacated membership on the task force.

���� c.���� It shall be the duty of
the task force to:

���� (1) �develop policy
recommendations to ensure first responders are culturally competent regarding
the severity and impact of missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls on the
communities and families affected;

���� (2) �develop training and
education materials for BIPOC communities on methods of prevention and
protection and social media protocols relating to missing BIPOC women and
girls, and disseminate the materials in high-impact communities within the
State;

���� (3) �develop strategies and
recommendations for the Office of the Attorney General to collect statistics,
demographics, surveys, and oral histories; conduct data analysis; and issue
guidelines to ensure de-identified data is publicly available;

���� (4) �identify traffic hubs,
highways, and extraction sites that lead to or facilitate the abduction of
BIPOC women and girls; and

���� (5) �create a State-wide
public awareness campaign.

���� d.��� The members of the task
force shall be appointed within 60 days following the enactment of this
section.� The task force shall organize as soon as practicable after the
appointment of its members, and shall select a chairperson from among its
membership, and a secretary who need not be a member of the task force.� The
task force may conduct business without a quorum, but only may vote on
recommendations when a quorum is present.� The task force shall meet at the
call of its chairperson, and at the times and in the places the chairperson may
deem appropriate and necessary to effectuate the task force�s duties, and it
may conduct public hearings at such place or places as the chairperson shall
designate.

���� e.���� The task force shall be
entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the
employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau,
commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its
purposes, and to employ stenographic and clerical assistance and incur
traveling and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform its duties,
within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for
its purposes.

���� The task force may use
existing studies, surveys, plans, data, and other materials in the possession
of any State agency and each agency is hereby authorized to make staff and
information available to the task force so that the task force may have current
information essential for its purposes.

���� f.���� Members of the task
force shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary
expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the
task force.

���� g.��� The task force shall
report its findings and recommendations, including legislative proposals, to
the Governor and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164
(C.52:14-19.1), no later than 18 months following the organization of the task force.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall expire on the 60th day after the submission of the
task force�s report to the Governor and the Legislature as required by
subsection g. of section 1 of this joint resolution.

STATEMENT

���� This joint resolution
establishes a task force on missing women and girls who are Black, Indigenous,
or people of color.�

���� The Centers for Disease
Control has reported that murder is the third-leading cause of death among
American Indian and Alaska Native women.� Additionally, in a 2020 report by the
Women�s Media Center, it was reported there are approximately 64,000-75,000
missing Black women and girls across the United States.� Cases involving BIPOC
women and girls often are under-reported, do not receive the required level of
attention by the media or law enforcement, and are categorized improperly by
law enforcement officials.�

���� The systemic racism, sexism,
and suppression experienced by BIPOC women and girls leads to worse health,
wealth, housing, education, and employment outcomes.� Furthermore, there is no
comprehensive database regarding missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls.�
Creation of the task force on missing BIPOC women and girls will address these
inequities.

���� The task force will be
responsible for:

���� (1) �developing policy
recommendations to ensure first responders are culturally competent regarding
the severity and impact of missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls on the
communities and families affected;

���� (2) �developing training and
education materials for BIPOC communities on methods of prevention and
protection and social media protocols relating to missing BIPOC women and
girls, and disseminating the materials in high-impact communities within the
State;

���� (3) �developing strategies and
recommendations for the Office of the Attorney General to collect statistics,
demographics, surveys, and oral histories; conduct data analysis; and issue
guidelines to ensure de-identified data is publicly available;

���� (4) �identifying traffic hubs,
highways, and resource extraction sites that lead to or facilitate the
abduction of BIPOC women and girls; and

���� (5) �creating a State-wide
public awareness campaign.

���� The task force will be
comprised of 15 members, as follows:

�

the Attorney General or the Attorney General�s designee, who
shall serve ex officio;

�

the Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families or
the commissioner�s designee, who shall serve ex officio;

�

the Commissioner of the Department of Health or the
commissioner�s designee, who shall serve ex officio;

�

the Superintendent of State Police or the superintendent�s
designee, who shall serve ex officio;

�

the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice or the
director�s designee, who shall serve ex officio;

�

two members to be appointed by the President of the Senate;

�

two members to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;

�

two members to be appointed by the Speaker of the General
Assembly;

�

two members to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General
Assembly; and

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two members to be appointed by the Governor.