LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 343
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: FEBRUARY 28, 2023
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Establishes crime of “sexual extortion”: using explicit sexual images
to extort victims.
Type of Impact: Annual State expenditure and revenue increases.
Agencies Affected: The Judiciary; Department of Law and Public Safety; Department of
Corrections; Office of the Public Defender; State Parole Board.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Annual Fiscal Impact
State Cost Increase Indeterminate
State Revenue Increase Indeterminate
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the bill will result in an indeterminate
annual increase in State expenditures and revenues. The OLS lacks sufficient information to
quantify the fiscal impact as it is not possible to know how many individuals will be
prosecuted, tried, and sentenced for crimes established by the bill.
 The State may receive indeterminate annual revenue from fines and penalties imposed on
individuals convicted for the crimes of sexual extortion and aggravated sexual extortion;
however, the State’s ability to collect criminal fines and penalties has historically been limited.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill establishes the crime of sexual extortion and the crime of aggravated sexual extortion,
which occurs when a person commits an act of sexual extortion with a child under the age of 18
or an adult with a developmental disability. Under the bill, sexual extortion is a crime of the third
degree and aggravated sexual extortion is a crime of the second degree.
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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FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes that the bill will result in an indeterminate annual increase in State
expenditures and revenues. The OLS lacks sufficient information to quantify the fiscal impact as
it is not possible to know how many individuals will be prosecuted, tried, and sentenced for crimes
established by the bill.
The following State agencies would incur caseload and expenditure increases under the bill: a)
the Department of Law and Public Safety would have to prosecute additional cases; b) the
Judiciary would have to adjudicate additional offenders and monitor additional probationers; c)
the Office of the Public Defender would have to represent additional low-income criminal
defendants; d) the Department of Corrections would have to house and care for more individuals
sentenced to prison terms; and e) the State Parole Board would have to supervise the return to
society of additional convicts.
A crime of the third degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of three to five years, a
fine of up to a $15,000, or both. However, a crime of the third degree generally carries a
presumption of non-incarceration for first-time offenders. Per the provisions of the bill, if the
victim is a minor or an adult with a disability, the charge would increase to aggravated sexual
extortion and will be graded as a crime of the second degree, which is punishable by a term of
imprisonment of five to ten years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. Costs to the Department of
Corrections are likely to be generated for housing individuals found guilty of aggravated sexual
extortion and sentenced to a term of incarceration. There may also be additional court costs related
to cases of aggravated sexual extortion because conviction for a crime of a higher degree could
create a reluctance to enter a guilty plea, thereby generating additional court cases.
In an informal estimate provided by the Department of Corrections previously, the average
annual cost of housing an inmate in a State correctional facility is $55,389, with a daily cost of
$151.75. The cost is based on FY 2021 actual expenditures and is an average of all facilities, with
an exception of the Special Treatment Unit at Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center that houses
the civilly committed residents.
The State may receive indeterminate annual revenue from fines and penalties imposed on
individuals convicted for the crimes of sexual extortion and aggravated sexual extortion; however,
the State’s ability to collect criminal 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.).