Bill Text: NJ S2721 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Office of State Police Affairs in but not of Department of Treasury.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-01-13 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S2721 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S2721-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Office of State Police Affairs in but not of Department of Treasury.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act establishing the Office of State Police Affairs and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is hereby created, the Office of State Police Affairs in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury. Notwithstanding this allocation, the office shall be independent of any supervision or control by any other State department, division, or office. The office shall be under the immediate supervision of a director, who shall be a person qualified by training and experience to direct the work of the office. The director shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The director shall be appointed to a term of five years.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Director of the Office of State Police Affairs shall have the power and duty to exercise supervision over the Superintendent of State Police within the Department of Law and Public Safety. The Superintendent of State Police shall report to the director on a regular basis, in a manner and frequency prescribed by the director.
2. a. The Office of State Police Affairs shall receive and investigate allegations concerning criminal complaints or complaints of misconduct against a law enforcement officer. In exercising investigatory powers, the director shall also be empowered to conduct evaluations, inspections, and other reviews as necessary. The director shall further be empowered to initiate investigations independent of any complaint received.
b. The director shall conduct investigations in accordance with prevailing national and professional standards, rules, and practices concerning investigations conducted in governmental environments. The director shall ensure that the office remains in compliance with these standards, rules, and practices. The director shall provide a process for complaints to be submitted confidentially by members of the general public and government employees.
c. In furtherance of an investigation, the director may compel at a specific time and place, by subpoena, the appearance and sworn testimony of any person whom the director reasonably believes may be able to provide information relating to the allegations concerning a criminal complaint or complaint of misconduct against a law enforcement officer under investigation. For this purpose, the director is empowered to administer oaths, examine witnesses under oath, and compel any person to produce at a specific time and place, by subpoena, any documents, books, records, papers, objects, or other evidence that the director reasonably believes may relate to the allegation under investigation.
If any person to whom such a subpoena is issued fails to appear or, having appeared, refuses to give testimony, or fails to produce the books, papers, or other documents required, the director may apply to the Superior Court, and the court may order the person to appear and give testimony or produce the books, papers, or other documents as applicable. Any person failing to obey the court's order may be punished by the court for contempt.
d. A person compelled by the director to appear and provide sworn testimony shall have the right to be accompanied by counsel, who shall be permitted to advise the witness of the witness' rights. A witness compelled to appear and testify shall be accorded all due process rights.
e. Notwithstanding any other provision under the laws of this State, a law enforcement officer under investigation pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) is prohibited from using privilege or work-product protection to withhold information from the director.
f. As used in this act, "law enforcement officer" shall mean a law enforcement officer as defined in P.L.2020, c.107 (C.52:17B-4.9) who is employed by the Division of State Police.
3. a. The Office of State Police Affairs shall review all Division of State Police internal affairs investigations and equal employment opportunity complaints, including dispositions and any decision by the Division of State Police not to refer a complaint from a citizen, or any other source, to the office, or its successor, to ascertain whether the Division of State Police has complied with applicable standard operating procedures, whether the outcomes of those investigations were supported by evidence, whether any discipline imposed was appropriate and proportionate, and to make recommendations to the Governor for appropriate disciplinary or remedial action.
b. The Office of State Police Affairs shall monitor, review, and evaluate the Division of State Police's procedures for handling internal affairs investigations and equal employment opportunity complaints, specifically to ensure that these complaints do not unduly or improperly impact the eligibility of a promotion for a law enforcement officer. The Office of State Police Affairs shall oversee the resolution of such complaints, ensuring they are resolved in a timely manner or within the prescribed timeline of the Division of State Police.
c. The Office of State Police Affairs may initiate investigations independent of any complaint received pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
4. a. The Director of the Office of State Police Affairs shall have the power and duty to oversee the appointment, employment, promotion, and removal of law enforcement officers.
b. The Office of State Police Affairs shall conduct exit interviews, which may be remote or virtual, with law enforcement officers who have separated from service. A law enforcement officer shall not be interviewed unless the law enforcement officer is granted anonymity and fully consents to participate.
c. The director shall annually prepare and submit to the Governor and to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), a report that provides recommendations concerning the recruitment, hiring, and promotions of law enforcement officers. The report shall also include findings from the exit interviews conducted pursuant to subsection b. of this section. The report shall be published on the Internet website of the Office of State Police Affairs.
5. a. The Office of State Police Affairs shall establish the internal organizational structure of the office in a manner appropriate to carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the office. The director shall have the power to appoint, employ, promote, and remove assistants, employees, and personnel as deemed necessary for the efficient and effective administration of the office.
b. Within the limits of funds appropriated for such purposes, the director may obtain the services of qualified management consultants or other professionals necessary to independently perform the duties and responsibilities of the office. Consultants shall be selected through an open competitive process, and the director shall establish standards and protocols to ensure the fairness and integrity of the process.
6. The Office of State Police Affairs is authorized to call upon any department, office, division, or agency of State government to provide information, resources, or other assistance deemed necessary to discharge the duties and responsibilities of the director. Each department, office, division, and agency of this State shall cooperate with the director and furnish the office with any necessary assistance.
7. The Office of State Police Affairs is authorized to cooperate and conduct joint investigations with other State oversight entities, including the State Auditor, the State Commission of Investigation, the State Comptroller, and the State Inspector General. The director is authorized and shall be permitted to participate in investigations conducted by other State oversight entities.
8. a. The Office of State Police Affairs may decline to investigate a complaint received when it is determined that:
(1) the complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious, or not made in good faith;
(2) if, in the opinion of the director, the complaint has been delayed too long to produce sufficient evidence or witnesses to justify a present investigation;
(3) the resources available, in considering established priorities, are insufficient for an adequate investigation; or
(4) the matter complained of is not within the director's investigatory authority.
b. In the course of conducting investigations, evaluations, inspections, and other reviews, the director may also refer matters for further civil and administrative action to an appropriate authority.
c. Whenever a criminal complaint is made against a law enforcement officer, the director shall notify the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. Additionally, the director is responsible for ensuring that such criminal complaints are documented as part of the law enforcement officer's personnel file.
d. All criminal complaints made against law enforcement officers shall be managed, investigated, and prosecuted by the Office of State Police Affairs. Any attorney appointed by the director to prosecute a criminal complaint shall serve as a State prosecutor with the same powers and authority as a county prosecutor, including the ability to bring criminal charges, represent the State in court, and exercise all other powers and responsibilities typically granted to county prosecutors under the laws of this State.
9. Whenever a person places a request with a public agency for a record that has been provided to the director during the course of an investigation and that record was open for public inspection, examination, or copying before the investigation commenced, the public agency from which the Office of State Police Affairs obtained the record shall comply with the request pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) provided that the request does not in any way identify the record sought by means of a reference to the director's investigation or to an investigation by any other public agency, including, but not limited to, a reference to a subpoena issued pursuant to the investigation. Requests for records made to the director pursuant to this section shall be referred to the agency that initially provided the records to the director.
10. The Office of State
Police Affairs shall maintain a record of all matters referred and the
responses received and shall be authorized to disclose information received as
appropriate and as may be necessary to resolve the matter referred, to the
extent consistent with the public interest in disclosure and the need for
protecting the confidentiality of complainants and informants and preserving
the confidentiality of ongoing investigations.
11. The Office of State Police Affairs shall meet at periodic intervals, but at least twice annually, with the State Auditor, State Commission of Investigation, the State Comptroller, the State Inspector General, and any other public officers or employees deemed appropriate and necessary who perform audits, investigations, and performance reviews similar or identical to those authorized to be performed by the director for the purpose of consulting, coordinating, and cooperating with those officers and employees in the conduct of audits, investigations, and reviews. The State Auditor, the State Commission of Investigation, the State Comptroller, the State Inspector General, and other public officers or employees shall attend meetings for the purpose of consultation, coordination, and cooperation with the director.
The focus of all parties during the meetings shall be to: facilitate communication and exchange information on completed, current, and future audits, investigations, and reviews; avoid duplication and fragmentation of efforts; optimize the use of resources; avoid divisiveness and organizational uncertainty; promote effective working relationships; and avoid the unnecessary expenditure of public funds.
12. At the conclusion of each investigation, the director shall prepare and submit a report containing the findings for any investigation and recommendations for corrective or remedial action to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the General Assembly pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1). The report shall be made available to the public on the official website of the Office of State Police Affairs. The director shall establish a process for interested members of the general public to apply to automatically receive filed reports through electronic or other appropriate means.
13. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Office of State Police Affairs (OSPA). The director will be appointed to a five-year term by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and is required to be qualified by training and experience to direct the work of the office. The director will operate independently, without supervision or control by any other State department, division, or office.
Under the bill, the Director of OSPA will have the power and duty to exercise supervision over the Superintendent of State Police within the Department of Law and Public Safety. The Superintendent of State Police is to report to the director on a regular basis, in a manner and frequency prescribed by the director.
Under the bill, the director is to receive and investigate allegations concerning criminal complaints or complaints of misconduct against law enforcement officers employed by the Division of State Police. To this end, the director is to provide a confidential process for submitting complaints by both the public and government employees. The director is responsible for organizing the office, hiring staff, and engaging consultants as needed, using a fair, competitive process to ensure independence and effectiveness.
Under the provisions of this bill, a law enforcement officer who is under investigation for allegations concerning a criminal complaint or complaint of misconduct is prohibited from using privilege or work-product protection to withhold information from the director.
The bill grants the director authority to compel testimony and request documents through subpoenas, requiring that all investigations adhere to national and professional standards. Additionally, the director can request information, resources, and assistance from any State department or agency to fulfill its duties. The director is also authorized to collaborate with other State oversight entities, such as the State Auditor, the State Commission of Investigation, the State Comptroller, and the State Inspector General, and may participate in joint investigations with these agencies.
Under the bill, OSPA is to review all Division of State Police internal affairs investigations and equal employment opportunity complaints to ascertain whether the Division of State Police has complied with applicable standard operating procedures, whether the outcomes of those investigations were supported by evidence, whether any discipline imposed was appropriate and proportionate, and to make recommendations to the Governor for appropriate disciplinary or remedial action.
Additionally, the OSPA is to monitor, review, and evaluate the Division of State Police's procedures for handling internal affairs investigations and equal employment opportunity complaints, specifically to ensure that these complaints do not unduly or improperly impact the eligibility of a promotion for a law enforcement officer. The OSPA is to oversee the resolution of such complaints, ensuring they are resolved in a timely manner or within the prescribed timeline of the Division of State Police.
Under the bill, the director will have the power and duty to oversee the appointment, employment, promotion, and removal of law enforcement officers employed by the Division of State Police. Additionally, the bill requires exit interviews to be conducted. The director is to annually prepare and submit to the Governor, and to the Legislature, a report that provides recommendations concerning the recruitment, hiring, and promotions of law enforcement officers. The report is to also include findings from the exit interviews required under the bill. The report is to be published on OSPA's website.
The bill provides the director the discretion to decline certain investigations. In the course of conducting investigations, evaluations, inspections, and other reviews, the director may also refer matters for further civil and administrative action to an appropriate authority. Whenever a criminal complaint is made against a law enforcement officer employed by the Division of State Police, the director is required to notify the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. Additionally, the director is responsible for ensuring that such criminal complaints are documented as part of the law enforcement officer's personnel file.
Under the bill, all criminal complaints made against law enforcement officers employed by the Division of State Police are to be managed, investigated, and prosecuted by OSPA. Any attorney appointed by the director to prosecute a criminal complaint is to serve as a State prosecutor with the same powers and authority as a county prosecutor, including the ability to bring criminal charges, represent the State in court, and exercise all other powers and responsibilities typically granted to county prosecutors under the laws of this State.
Under the provisions of the bill, the director is required to maintain detailed records of complaints and outcomes and may disclose information as needed while safeguarding the confidentiality of ongoing investigations. The director is to meet at least twice annually with other State oversight bodies to coordinate efforts, share information, and prevent duplication of work. After concluding an investigation, the director is to submit a report with findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature, which is also to be published online for public access.
