LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
ASSEMBLY, No. 4769
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: NOVEMBER 25, 2022
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Makes various revisions to requirements for obtaining a firearm
purchaser identification card, permit to purchase a handgun, and
permit to carry a handgun; codifies sensitive places in which
firearms and destructive devices are prohibited.
Type of Impact: Annual State and municipal expenditure increases.
Annual State and municipal revenues increases.
Agencies Affected: Department of Law and Public Safety; Department of Corrections;
Victims of Crime Compensation Office; Administrative Office of the
Courts; Superior Courts; Municipal Law Enforcement and
Prosecutors.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Annual
State Expenditure Increase Indeterminate
State Revenue Increase Indeterminate
Local Cost Increase Indeterminate
Local Revenue Increase Indeterminate
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) anticipates that the State and municipalities will incur
indeterminate additional annual operating expenses from the processing of an increased
number of applications; establishing training programs; enforcing, prosecuting, and trying the
offenses established by the bill; and incarcerating any offenders. In addition, the OLS estimates
increased State and municipal revenue because of the fee increases for the permit to carry
application, the firearms purchaser identification card (FPIC), the permit to purchase a
handgun (PPH), and increased fines and penalties.
 The bill’s establishment of crimes of the second, third, and fourth degree, and disorderly
persons offenses will increase the workload of the Division of Criminal Justice in the
Department of Law and Public Safety, county prosecutor’s offices, the Administrative Office
of the Courts, and municipal courts as additional defendants will be prosecuted and tried for
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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these crimes and offenses. Crimes of the second, third, and fourth degree are adjudicated by
the Superior Court. Disorderly persons offenses are adjudicated by municipal courts, in most
circumstances. A presumption of non-incarceration applies to first-time offenders of crimes of
the third and fourth degree, and disorderly persons offenses. Repeat offenders, however, could
be incarcerated, with the Department of Corrections incurring the cost.
 The Victims of Crime Compensation Office will receive a portion of the established $200
application fee for the permit to carry a handgun.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill removes from current law the justifiable need standard, which is the standard an
individual is required to meet to hold a permit to carry a handgun in this State, in accordance with
a recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
v. Bruen. The bill further establishes certain criteria for obtaining a permit to carry a handgun and
codifies certain venues at which the right to carry firearms and certain destructive devices would
be restricted due to security and safety concerns.
The bill expands the disqualifying criteria that would prohibit a person from obtaining an FPIC,
PPH, or permit to carry a handgun.
The bill makes several changes to the procedure for applying for an FPIC or a PPH. The bill
increases the fee to obtain an FPIC from $5 to $50. The fee for a PPH would be increased from $2
to $25.
This bill renders a recent enactment (P.L.2022, c.58), which requires FPICs to display a picture
and thumb print, inoperative until the Superintendent of State Police establishes a system for
issuing these cards. Eventually, the FPIC would be electronically linked to the fingerprints of the
card holder, rather than displaying a thumb print. The permits would be issued to the applicant
electronically through the web portal.
This bill codifies the current reporting procedure established by the State Police, which
established a web portal for electronically reporting handgun sales and requires that handgun
transfers between certain people be conducted via the web portal.
The bill permits retired law enforcement officers to renew their permit to carry a handgun every
two years as compared to the annual renewal of their permit to carry.
The bill revises the application process for obtaining a permit to carry a handgun. The bill
requires an applicant to provide endorsements from four people, an increase of one additional
endorsement, who are unrelated to the applicant. The chief police officer or superintendent, as
appropriate, is required to interview the applicant and those persons providing the endorsements
and may request information from the applicant or any other person pertaining to publicly available
statements posted or published online by the applicant. The bill also extends the time frame within
which the superintendent or chief police officer is required to approve or deny an application for
a permit to carry a handgun from 60 to 90 days.
The bill also requires the superintendent to establish a training requirement on or before the
first day of the seventh month of the bill’s enactment in the lawful and safe handling and storage
of firearms for persons who obtain a permit to carry a handgun. The training requirement is to
consist of an online course of instruction, in-person classroom instruction, and target training. A
person who obtained a permit to carry a handgun prior to the first day of the seventh month
following the bill’s effective date and prior to the establishment of the of the training requirement
would be required to complete the classroom instruction and target training within ten months of
the bill’s enactment.
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The bill removes from current law a $20 fee imposed by the county clerk but imposes a $200
application fee for the permit to carry a handgun. In the case of an application made to the chief
police officer of a municipality, $150 of the fee is to be retained by the municipality to defray the
costs of investigation, administration, and processing of the permit to carry handgun applications.
The remaining $50 is to be forwarded to the superintendent to be deposited into the Victims of
Crime Compensation Office account. The permit would be issued to the applicant electronically
through email or through an established web portal. Prior to issuing the permit, the chief police
officer or superintendent is required to conduct an investigation of the applicant. Any fees
submitted to the superintendent are to be deposited into the Victims of Crime Compensation Office
account.
The bill establishes requirements for private citizens who obtain a carry permit, including: (1)
certain safe carry requirements; (2) obtaining liability insurance and providing proof of insurance
in certain instances; (3) disclosing the presence of a handgun and exhibiting the permit to carry to
a law enforcement officer if stopped or detained while carrying in public or traveling with a
handgun in a motor vehicle; and (4) providing a handgun to a law enforcement officer for
inspection, upon request if detained by the officer as part of a criminal investigation. A person
who violates the safe carry and insurance requirements would be guilty of a crime of the fourth
degree. A person who fails to exhibit a permit to carry would be guilty of a disorderly persons
offense and subject to a $100 fine for the first offense and guilty of a crime of the fourth degree
for a second or subsequent offense. A person who is carrying a handgun in public without a permit
to carry or openly and not concealed, whether or not the person has a permit to carry, would be
guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
The bill also delineates places in which certain persons would be prohibited from carrying a
firearm or destructive device. Under the bill, it would be a third degree crime to carry any firearm
or a crime of the second degree to possess a destructive device in those certain locations.
Finally, the bill clarifies that application determinations for a permit to carry a handgun that
were pending before the Superior Court and filed prior to bill’s enactment are to be made by the
court. A Judge of the Superior Court may rely on the approval by the chief police officer or
superintendent, as the case may be, as the basis for issuing the permit. Application determinations
for a permit to carry a handgun that are submitted on or after the date of the bill’s enactment will
be made solely by a chief police officer or superintendent..
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS anticipates that the State, county prosecutor’s offices, local law enforcement
agencies, and municipal courts will incur indeterminate additional annual operating expenses from
processing an increased number of applications; establishing a training program; enforcing,
prosecuting, and trying the offenses established by the bill; and incarcerating any offenders. In
addition, the OLS estimates increased State and municipal revenue because of the fee increases
for the permit to carry application, the FPIC, the PPH, and increased fines and penalties.
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According to a June 2022 news article, only 1,000 permits to carry a handgun have been issued
in the State and New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Pat Callahan anticipates that more
than 200,000 people will apply for these permits in light of the United States Supreme Court ruling.
State Expenditure Increases and Decreases – The OLS estimates that the bill’s requirements
will result in increased expenditures to the Division of State Police to process additional permit to
carry a handgun applications, as well as to establish a training program for those individuals who
are approved to obtain a carry permit.
Further, this bill establishes penalties for various offenses related to a permit to carry a
handgun. The bill’s establishment of crimes of the second, third, and fourth degree, and disorderly
persons offenses, will increase the workload of the Division of Criminal Justice in the Department
of Law and Public Safety, county prosecutor’s offices, the Administrative Office of the Courts,
and municipal courts, as additional defendants will be prosecuted and tried. Crimes of the second,
third, and fourth degree are adjudicated by the Superior Court. Disorderly persons offenses are
adjudicated by municipal courts, in most circumstances. A presumption of incarceration applies to
crimes of the second degree; however, a presumption of non-incarceration applies to first-time
offenders of crimes of the third and fourth degree, and disorderly persons cases. Repeat offenders,
however, could be incarcerated.
Further, the bill requires the Division of State Police to accept an increased number of permit
to carry a handgun applications and establish a training program (online, in-person, and target
training) with the Police Training Commission in the lawful and safe handling and storage of
firearms for persons who obtain a permit to carry a handgun. The bill is anticipated to increase the
Division of State Police’s workload as there will be additional applications and persons required
to be interviewed during the application process. The bill does extend the time frame for the
superintendent to approve or deny an application for a permit to carry a handgun from 60 to 90
days, and this extension may be helpful in meeting this deadline depending on the number of
applications received at any given time.
The OLS cannot determine if any of the increased firearm related fees or payments for training
courses will offset the operations cost to the Division of State Police related to the anticipated
increased workload. The Victims of Crime Compensation Office will receive a portion of the
established $200 application fee for the permit to carry a handgun.
Additionally, this bill renders a recent enactment (P.L.2022, c.58), which requires FPICs to
display a picture and fingerprint, inoperative until the superintendent establishes a system for
issuing these cards. This may provide a temporary cost savings to the Division of State Police.
Lastly, the State may have legal costs associated with those challenging the bill’s
constitutionality.
Municipal Law Enforcement Expenditure Increase – The OLS estimates that the bill will
produce indeterminate annual expenditure increases to municipalities, specifically law
enforcement.
Under current law, in order to lawfully carry a handgun in public, applicants for a permit to
carry a handgun need the approval of the chief police officer in the municipality where they reside
and the approval of a Superior Court judge in the county where they reside. This approval is
contingent upon a person submitting, along with the application, a written certification establishing
justifiable need. As the bill changes current law and there is an expectation of increased
applications, the OLS estimates that the increase in estimated applications will result in a need for
additional manpower to fulfill the bill’s requirements.
Specifically, the bill revises the application process for obtaining a permit to carry a handgun.
Currently, the chief police officer is required to interview the applicant and those persons providing
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the endorsements. The bill requires an applicant to provide endorsements from four people, an
increase of one additional endorsement. The OLS estimates that, based on the anticipated increase
in the number of applicants and investigations, this requirement will result in an increased
workload for municipal law enforcement. The bill does extend the time frame for the chief police
officer to approve or deny an application for a permit to carry a handgun from 60 to 90 days, and
this extension may be helpful in meeting this deadline depending on the number of applications
received at any given time.
Further, a person who fails to exhibit a carry permit to a law enforcement officer when stopped
or detained would be guilty of a disorderly persons offense in the case of a first offense. The bill’s
establishment of this disorderly persons offense will increase the workload of the municipal courts
as additional defendants will be prosecuted and tried.
State and Municipal Annual Revenue – An increase in revenue from increased fees as well as
additional indeterminate annual State and municipal revenue will accrue from fine and penalty
payments from convicted violators of new statutory provisions.
Fees - The bill increases the fee to obtain an FPIC from $5 to $50, which must be renewed
every ten years and only applies to those cards issued after the effective date of P.L.2022, c.58.
The fee for the PPH would be increased from $2 to $25 and is only valid for 90 days.
The bill increases the fee associated with the permit to carry a handgun from $20 to $200. In
the case of an application made to the chief police officer of a municipality, $150 of the fee is to
be retained by the municipality to defray the costs of investigation, administration, and processing
of the permit to carry a handgun applications. The remaining $50 is to be deposited with the
superintendent. Any fees submitted to the superintendent are to be deposited into the Victims of
Crime Compensation Office account.
Fine and penalty payments - This bill establishes penalties for various offenses related to the
permit to carry a handgun. In establishing the crimes of the second, third, and fourth degree, and
disorderly persons offenses, the bill creates the potential for recurring State and municipal revenue
gains.
Under the bill, it would be a crime of the second degree to carry a destructive device in certain
locations and a crime of the third degree to carry a firearm in certain locations. In creating new
crimes of the second and third degree, the bill could potentially generate increased recurring State
revenue gains. Crimes of the second degree are punishable by a term of imprisonment of five to
10 years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. Crimes of the third degree are punishable by a term of
imprisonment of three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.
The bill establishes certain requirements for private citizens who obtain a permit to carry a
handgun with penalties for violations. The bill creates several crimes of the fourth degree. Under
the bill, a person would be guilty of a crime of a fourth degree by: (1) violating the safe carry
requirements established by the bill; (2) violating the requirements to obtain insurance and display
proof of the insurance, in certain instances; (3) failing to disclose the presence of a handgun to a
law enforcement officer, upon request, if stopped or detained; (4) failing to provide a handgun to
a law enforcement officer, upon request, if detained for a criminal investigation; (5) committing a
second or subsequent offense