Bill > S263

Introduced Session

This bill would upgrade burglary of a residence to a crime of the second degree and provide that an offender is not eligible for early release if a person was present in the residence at the time of the offense. Currently, all burglary offenses are crimes of the third degree unless the offender purposely, knowingly, or recklessly inflicts, attempts to inflict, or threatens to inflict bodily injury on someone or if the offender is armed with explosives or a deadly weapon, in which case it is a crime of the second degree. This bill would provide that it is also a crime of the second degree to unlawfully enter or surreptitiously remain in a dwelling or other structure adapted for overnight accommodation of persons, whether or not a person is actually present. Additionally, the bill would provide that, if a person was present in the dwelling at the time of the burglary, the offender would be subject to the provisions of subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.1997, c.117 (C.2C:43-7.2), commonly known as the "No Early Release Act (NERA)," which requires that certain offenders must serve a minimum 85% of the sentence of imprisonment imposed for the offense. A crime of the second degree is punishable by imprisonment for five to 10 years, up to a $150,000 fine, or both. A crime of the third degree is punishable by imprisonment for three to five years, up to a $15,000 fine, or both.

Committee Categories

Kristin Corrado (R)*,  Tom Kean (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 01/14/2020)