Bill > SCR68

Introduced Session

This Concurrent Resolution proposes to amend the State Constitution to authorize the Legislature to enact a statute to establish a Bureau of Probation in the State Parole Board. The constitutional amendment transfers all of the functions, powers, duties, and responsibilities concerning probation, and the probation officers and other professional supervisors, case workers, and case-related employees who perform probation functions from the Judiciary to this new Bureau of Probation. Under this proposed constitutional amendment, existing contractual terms and conditions would remain unchanged, as would the status of exclusive employee bargaining representatives. The units and contracts, as well as the contract representatives, would be continued in the Bureau of Probation. In 2001, the Legislature enacted a law (P.L.2001, c.362; C.2B:10A-1 et al.) to establish a "Probation Officer Community Safety Unit" consisting of at least 200 probation officers authorized to carry a firearm in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (17) of subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:39-6 and regulations adopted by the Attorney General. The legislation also granted these probation officers the authority to arrest probationers, enforce the criminal laws of this State, and enforce warrants for the apprehension and arrest of probationers who violate conditions of probation. In April 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that P.L.2001, c.362 (C.2B:10A-1 et al.) was unconstitutional because it violated the separation of powers doctrine. The court stated that it is the responsibility of the Judiciary to define the duties of probation officers. The court also reiterated its position that probation officers are not law enforcement officers, but impartial agents of the Judiciary.

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Gordon Johnson (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document