This bill amends the bias intimidation statute, N.J.S.2C:16-1, by eliminating a provision that relates to the victim's perception of the defendant's purpose and replacing it with language that focuses on a "reasonable" victim. The current law states that a person is guilty of bias intimidation if they commit an offense under certain circumstances, including one where the victim reasonably believes the offense was committed with the intent to intimidate them based on various characteristics. The bill removes this provision, which was deemed unconstitutional by the New Jersey Supreme Court in the 2015 case of *State v. Pomianek*, due to its vagueness and potential for misinterpretation.

Under the new language, a person would be guilty of bias intimidation if they commit an enumerated crime under circumstances that would cause a reasonable individual or group to feel intimidated based on their race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, or ethnicity. This change aligns the bias intimidation statute with similar language used in the stalking statute, which has been upheld by the New Jersey Supreme Court in *State v. Gandhi*. The bill aims to provide clearer guidelines for determining bias intimidation while ensuring that the law is constitutionally sound.