This bill amends New Jersey's bias intimidation law to explicitly include Sikhism as a protected class, alongside existing categories such as race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, and ethnicity. The legislation aims to address the rising incidents of anti-Sikh hate crimes, which have been highlighted by recent FBI reports indicating that Sikhs are among the most targeted groups for religiously motivated hate crimes. The bill outlines that individuals can be charged with bias intimidation if they commit or threaten certain offenses with the intent to intimidate someone based on their membership in a protected class, including Sikhism.

In addition to the legal amendments, the bill mandates the Office of the Attorney General to develop training for law enforcement on Sikhism to prevent misclassification of hate incidents, coordinate public awareness campaigns, and report annually on educational initiatives related to Sikhism. It also expands the responsibilities of the Chief Diversity Officer to ensure that anti-Sikh hate definitions are included in public entity policies. To support these initiatives, the bill appropriates $100,000 annually for three years from the General Fund for Sikh awareness educational efforts and outreach to the Sikh community.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 52:32-18.1