LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 5034
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: MARCH 27, 2023
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Expands crime of leader of auto theft trafficking network; establishes
third degree crime of participant in auto theft trafficking network.
Type of Impact: Annual State expenditure and revenue increases.
Agencies Affected: Department of Corrections, State Parole Board, Department of Law
and Public Safety, the Judiciary, Office of the Public Defender.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Annual
State Cost Increase Indeterminate
State Revenue Increase Indeterminate
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) projects that this bill will result in annual State
expenditure and revenue increases. The following State agencies would incur caseload and
expenditure increases: i) the Department of Corrections would have to house more inmates in
State prisons and the State Parole Board would have to supervise their return to society; ii) the
Department of Law and Public Safety would have to prosecute additional cases; iii) the
Judiciary would have to adjudicate additional cases; and iv) the Office of the Public Defender
would have to represent additional low-income criminal defendants.
 The OLS does not have sufficient information on the potential increases in number of
convictions and terms of imprisonment resulting from the bill’s provisions and therefore is
unable to estimate the costs to the State.
 This bill expands the crime of leader of an auto theft trafficking network and establishes a third
degree crime of participant in auto theft trafficking network. The OLS notes the State may
receive indeterminate revenue from regular and enhanced fines imposed on individuals
convicted of the crimes under this bill. However, the State’s ability to collect criminal fines
and penalties has historically been limited.
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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BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill expands the crime of leader of auto theft trafficking network and establishes a third
degree crime of participant in auto theft trafficking network.
Under the bill, a person is a leader of an auto theft trafficking network if the person conspires
with others as an organizer, supervisor, financier, manager, or recruiter to engage for profit or to
commit other criminal activity in a scheme or course of conduct to unlawfully take, dispose of,
distribute, bring into, or transport in this State automobiles or automobile parts as stolen property.
The bill establishes a new crime of participant in auto theft trafficking network if a person
conspires with others as a participant to engage for profit or to commit other criminal activity in a
scheme or course of conduct to unlawfully take, dispose of, distribute, bring into, or transport in
this State automobiles or automobile parts as stolen property. Participant in auto theft trafficking
network is a crime of the third degree.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS projects that this bill will result in annual State expenditure and revenue increases.
The following State agencies would incur caseload and expenditure increases: i) the Department
of Corrections would have to house more inmates and the State Parole Board would have to
supervise their return to society; ii) the Department of Law and Public Safety would have to
prosecute additional cases; iii) the Judiciary would have to adjudicate additional cases; and iv) the
Office of the Public Defender would have to represent additional low-income criminal defendants.
Crime data made available on the official State website indicates that there were 10,279 motor
vehicle thefts in 2020 and 4,962 motor vehicle thefts for the period January through June in 2021.
However, the OLS does not have a breakdown on the sentencing of these offenders to ascertain
how many are or are likely to be incarcerated in State prisons. According to statistics made
available on the Department of Corrections website, as of January 2022, of the 12,492 inmates in
State facilities, 526, or approximately four percent, were incarcerated for “property offenses,”
which include burglary, arson, theft, forgery, embezzlement, and receiving or possessing stolen
property. The data does not provide a breakdown by the number of motor vehicle thefts or number
of offenders receiving stolen vehicles.
The OLS does not have sufficient information on the potential increases in number of
convictions and terms of imprisonment resulting from the bill’s provisions and therefore is unable
to estimate the costs to the State. Any increase in incarceration will result in increased costs to the
Department of Corrections for housing inmates. In an informal estimate previously provided by
the department, the average annual cost of housing an inmate in a State correctional facility was
$55,389 with a daily cost of $151.75. The cost was based on FY 2021 actual expenditures and is
an average of all facilities, not including the Special Treatment Unit at the Adult Diagnostic and
Treatment Center that houses civilly committed residents. Any increase in incarceration under the
bill also would result in increased costs to the State Parole Board to supervise the return to society
of additional convicted persons.
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The bill expands the scope of the crime of leader of an auto theft trafficking network to include
automobile parts in addition to automobiles as stolen property, among other things. Currently, the
crime of leader of an auto theft trafficking network is graded as a crime of the second degree. A
crime of the second degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of five to 10 years, a fine of
$150,000, or both. The bill, however, provides for an enhanced fine of up to $250,000 or five times
the retail value of the stolen automobile or automobile parts seized at the time of arrest, whichever
amount is greater. The bill also establishes a new crime of participant in auto theft trafficking
network if a person conspires with others as participant to engage for profit or to commit other
criminal activity in a scheme to take or transport automobiles or automobile parts. Participant in
auto theft trafficking network is a crime of the third degree. A crime of the third degree is
punishable by a fine of up to $15,000, a term of imprisonment of three to five years, or both.
Generally, crimes of the third degree carry with them the presumption of non-incarceration for
first time offenders. However, the presumption of non-incarceration does not apply to crimes of
the third degree involving motor vehicle theft.
The OLS notes the State may receive indeterminate revenue from regular and enhanced fines
imposed on individuals convicted of the crimes under this bill. 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.).


Statutes affected:
Introduced: 2C:20-18
Advance Law: 2C:20-18
Pamphlet Law: 2C:20-18