Bill > A1343

Introduced Session

This bill creates a disorderly persons offense for persons who conceal or attempt to conceal their identity while committing another crime or offense. Under the provisions of the bill, it is a disorderly persons offense for a person to conceal or attempt to conceal the person's identity by wearing a mask or disguise with the purpose of instilling fear, hindering prosecution, or avoiding apprehension while committing another crime or offense. The bill provides that a person who wears a mask or disguise for medical, religious, or expressive purposes is not to be deemed to have acted with the purpose to instill fear, hinder prosecution, or avoid apprehension. Under the bill, a person would not be charged with a disorderly persons offense pursuant to the bill's provisions unless the person is charged with an underlying crime or offense under Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes and was wearing a mask or disguise at the time the person committed the underlying crime or offense. Finally, the bill also prohibits the merger of this offense with any other criminal offense for the purpose of reducing a defendant's sentence. It is a disorderly persons offense to violate the provisions of the bill. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by up to six months imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Dan Hutchison (D)*,  Cody Miller (D)*,  Erik Simonsen (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document