LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[Second Reprint]
SENATE, No. 3093
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: JUNE 22, 2023
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Upgrades certain penalties for assaulting law enforcement officer and
requires offender to be tested for communicable diseases in certain
instances.
Type of Impact: Annual State expenditure and revenue increases.
Agencies Affected: Department of Law and Public Safety; Department of Corrections;
State Parole Board; the Judiciary; Office of the Public Defender;
Department of Health.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Annual
State Cost Increase Indeterminate
State Revenue Increase Indeterminate
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) anticipates that the bill will result in indeterminate
additional annual costs to the State. The bill upgrades certain crimes concerning assault of a
law enforcement officer from crimes of the third degree and the fourth degree to a crime of the
second degree. Crimes of the second degree carry a presumption of incarceration for persons
convicted of these crimes while, generally, a presumption of non-incarceration applies to first
time offenders of crimes of the third degree and the fourth degree.
 The following State agencies would incur caseload and expenditure increases: i) the
Department of Corrections would have to house more inmates for longer terms of
imprisonment and the State Parole Board would have to supervise their return to society; ii)
the Judiciary would need to adjudicate additional cases; iii) the Office of the Public Defender
may have to represent additional low-income criminal defendants; and iv) the Department of
Law and Public Safety would have to prosecute additional cases if the increased penalties
create a reluctance on the part of the defendant to enter a guilty plea.
Office of Legislative Services Legislative Budget and Finance Office
State House Annex Phone (609) 847-3105
P.O. Box 068 Fax (609) 777-2442
Trenton, New Jersey 08625 www.njleg.state.nj.us
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 This bill will also result in increased costs to the State due to the provision requiring any person
charged with assault with a bodily fluid be tested for communicable diseases at a clinical
laboratory licensed by the Department of Health. The OLS cannot confirm how many such
individuals will require testing or who will pay for it. For context, the Department of
Corrections reported 128 assaults with bodily fluids for 2021. For 2022, through June, 129
assaults with bodily fluids were reported by the Department of Corrections.
 The State may receive indeterminate additional annual revenue from fines and penalties
imposed on and collected from individuals convicted of the upgraded offenses; however, the
State’s ability to collect fines and penalties has historically been limited.
BILL DESCRIPTION
The bill upgrades certain penalties for assaulting a law enforcement officer. The bill also
increases the penalty for assault with bodily fluids if the victim is a law enforcement officer, paid
or volunteer firefighter, or person engaged in emergency first-aid or medical services suffers
bodily injury.
Under current law, it is a crime of the third degree to assault a law enforcement officer if the
victim is injured; otherwise, it is a crime of the fourth degree. Under this bill, the penalty for
assaulting a law enforcement officer would become a crime of the second degree. The bill also
amends current law to specify whether an assault on a law enforcement officer results in bodily
injury or serious bodily injury, or no injury. The bill provides that a conviction for assaulting a
law enforcement officer would not merge with any other criminal offense. Under the bill, a
mandatory term of incarceration under the No Early Release Act would not apply to second degree
assault of a law enforcement officer, unless the assault resulted in bodily injury or seriously bodily
injury.
The bill would also upgrade the penalty for assault with bodily fluids of a law enforcement
officer, paid or volunteer firefighter, or person engaged in emergency first-aid or medical services
suffers bodily injury. Under the bill, the penalty for assault with bodily fluids would be upgraded
to a crime of the second degree if the victim suffers bodily injury. Additionally, any person
charged with assault with a bodily fluid would be required to provide a blood sample or other
biological sample drawn to be tested for communicable diseases at a clinical laboratory licensed
by the Department of Health, upon consent given by the person charged or in compliance with a
warrant issued by a judge of the Superior Court.
A crime of the second degree is punishable by five to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of up to
$150,000, or both.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
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OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS anticipates that the bill will result in indeterminate additional annual costs to the
State. The bill upgrades certain crimes concerning assault of a law enforcement officer from
crimes of the third degree and the fourth degree to a crime of the second degree. Crimes of the
second degree carry a presumption of incarceration for persons convicted of these crimes while,
generally, a presumption of non-incarceration applies to first time offenders of crimes of the third
and the fourth degree.
The following State agencies would incur caseload and expenditure increases: i) the
Department of Corrections would have to house more inmates for longer terms of imprisonment
and the State Parole Board would have to supervise their return to society; ii) the Judiciary would
need to adjudicate additional cases; iii) the Office of the Public Defender may have to represent
additional low-income criminal defendants; and iv) the Department of Law and Public Safety
would have to prosecute additional cases if the increased penalties create a reluctance on the part
of the defendant to enter a guilty plea. The OLS finds that to the extent that the bill will result in
additional incarcerations, based on information provided by the Department of Corrections, the
FY 2021 average costs for housing an inmate were $55,389, whereas the average daily cost was
$151.75.
This bill will also result in increased costs to the State due to the provision requiring any person
charged with assault with a bodily fluid be tested for communicable diseases at a clinical laboratory
licensed by the Department of Health. The OLS cannot confirm how many such individuals will
require testing or who will pay for it.
In response to an FY 2023 budget follow-up question, the Department of Corrections noted
that there were a total of 194 assaults on correctional staff in 2018, three assaults with a weapon
and 51 assaults with bodily fluids. By 2021, the total number of correctional staff assaults was 319,
with no assaults with weapons and 128 assaults with bodily fluids. For 2022, through June, the
number of correctional staff assaults was at 247, with 129 assaults with bodily fluids. The OLS
does not have data for the full year of 2022 or the most recent data for 2023.
The OLS cannot determine the number of convictions the bill’s provisions may generate or the
associated fine and penalty revenue. The State may receive indeterminate additional annual
revenue from fines and penalties imposed on and collected from individuals convicted of the
upgraded offenses; however, the State’s ability to collect fines and penalties has historically been
limited.
Section: Judiciary
Analyst: Anuja Pande Joshi
Senior Fiscal Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the
failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).


Statutes affected:
Introduced: 2C:12-13