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LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 1729
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: JANUARY 30, 2023
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Requires Attorney General to address human trafficking in
underserved communities.
Type of Impact: Potential annual State cost increase.
Agencies Affected: Department of Law and Public Safety.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Annual
Potential State Cost Increase Indeterminate
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that this legislation should not result in an
increase in State expenditures as the bill requires the Attorney General to allocate and utilize
resources in the Department of Law and Public Safety to perform functions designed to address
the specific needs and vulnerabilities of human trafficking victims in underserved
communities. Absent information from the department, however, the OLS cannot anticipate
the resources the department would allocate.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill requires the Attorney General to address human trafficking related to members of
underserved communities, particularly girls and women of color, by allocating and utilizing
resources in the Department of Law and Public Safety to perform functions designed to address
specific needs and vulnerabilities.
The bill provides that the responsibilities would include, but not be limited to: (1) coordinating
with the State and municipal and county law enforcement agencies to investigate cases related to
human trafficking in underserved communities; (2) coordinating with relevant government
entities, including, but not limited to the Victims of Crime Compensation Office and the
Commission on Human Trafficking, and community-based organizations to create and administer
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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programs to connect victims to appropriate and effective information and resources; and (3)
collecting and maintaining data related to human trafficking cases and trends concerning members
of underserved communities.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes that this legislation should not result in an increase in State expenditures
as the bill requires the Attorney General to address human trafficking related to members of
underserved communities, particularly girls and women of color, by allocating and utilizing
resources in the Department of Law and Public Safety to perform functions designed to address
specific needs and vulnerabilities.
The OLS notes that the current State of New Jersey Human Trafficking Task Force, affiliated
with the Attorney General and the Division of Criminal Justice, may add the bill’s requirements
to the task force’s current mission. The current goals of the Human Trafficking Task Force are to:
1) train and assist law enforcement in methods of identifying victims and signs of trafficking to
disrupt and interdict this activity; 2) coordinate Statewide efforts in the identification and provision
of services to victims of human trafficking; and 3) increase the successful interdiction and
prosecution of trafficking of human persons. Depending on the department’s resource allocation
policies, the added workload may or may not augment State administrative expenditures. Absent
information from the Department of Law and Public Safety, however, the OLS cannot anticipate
the resources the department would allocate.
Human Trafficking Background - Human trafficking is the second-largest criminal industry
in the world and is prevalent in every state in the United States. New Jersey is considered
particularly vulnerable to the proliferation of human trafficking due to its dense population and
location along the I-95 corridor. In 2020 alone, there were 146 reported cases to the National
Human Trafficking Hotline in New Jersey. These numbers only reflect cases identified through
the hotline and do not include cases identified by hospitals, law enforcement, social service
agencies, and others who help survivors directly without reporting.
During a 2022 Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee meeting, a
representative from the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence indicated that women are
the most likely to be sex trafficked, accounting for 94 percent of cases. Of those cases, 40 percent
were Black, and 24 percent were Latina. During the same meeting, a representative from the
Department of Law and Public Safety who works with a human trafficking task force out of the
State Attorney General’s Office indicated that roughly 100 human trafficking cases had been
prosecuted in New Jersey from 2017-2022.
Section: Law and Public Safety
Analyst: Kristin Brunner Santos
Lead Fiscal Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
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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.).