Bill > S740

Introduced Session

This bill would revise the law pertaining to the offense of agricultural trespass. Current law provides that a person commits the crime of agricultural trespass if the person either: (1) knowingly or recklessly operates a motorized vehicle or rides horseback upon the lands of another without obtaining and possessing the written permission of the owner, occupant, lessee, or licensee of the lands; or (2) knowingly or recklessly damages or injures any tangible property, including any fence, building, feedstocks, crops, trees, or domestic animals, located on the lands of another. Current law also provides for the imposition of a civil penalty in cases where a person knowingly or recklessly engages in these activities. This bill would eliminate the law's provisions requiring knowledge or recklessness to be established as an element of the offense of agricultural trespass, and it would additionally expand the types of activities that will be deemed to constitute such offense. Specifically, under the bill's provisions, a person would be deemed to have committed the crime of agricultural trespass, and would additionally be subject to a civil penalty for agricultural trespass, if the person: (1) encroaches upon the lands of another by entering or remaining on such lands, whether on foot, while riding horseback, while using a motorized or non-motorized vehicle, while operating motorized or non-motorized equipment, or otherwise, without obtaining and being in possession of the written permission of the owner, occupant, lessee, or licensee of the lands; or (2) damages or injures any tangible property, including, any fence, building, equipment, feedstock, crop, tree, or domestic animal, which is located on the lands of another. The bill would further clarify that nothing in the law will relieve the owners of agricultural or horticultural lands from the obligation to post conspicuous notice prohibiting trespass on the waters, or on the banks along or around any waters, which are listed for stocking with fish in the current State Fish and Game Code, adopted pursuant to section 32 of P.L.1948, c.448 (C.13:1B-30), before a trespass violation may be found to have occurred on such banks or in or on such waters. Under the bill's provisions, and consistent with existing law, any person who trespasses upon the agricultural or horticultural lands of another would be subject to a civil penalty of at least $100, and any person who operates a motorized vehicle, operates motorized equipment, or rides horseback upon the lands of another without obtaining and being in possession of the written permission of the owner, occupant, lessee, or licensee thereof, or who damages or injures any tangible property located on the lands of another, including, but not limited to, any fence, building, equipment, feedstock, crop, tree, or domestic animal, would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 and the payment of attorneys' fees, which penalties would be in addition to any other fines, penalties, or restitution that may be imposed pursuant to the law. Finally, the bill would amend the existing statutory definitions of "lands" that are subject to agricultural trespass, in order to clarify those definitions, facilitate ease of reading, and expand the definitions to include the following types of land: (1) appurtenant woodland, which is contiguous to, a part of, or beneficial to, another tract of land to which the woodland is supportive and subordinate, which other tract of land has at least five acres devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses including the production, for sale, of Christmas trees, but excluding the production, for sale, of other trees or forest products; and (2) land that is appurtenant to the above-described appurtenant woodland or to any other types of lands already susceptible to agricultural trespass under the applicable statutory definitions, provided that such appurtenant land is used for the maintenance or storage of agricultural equipment.

Committee Categories

Douglas Steinhardt (R)*,  Andrew Zwicker (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document