Bill > A4077

Introduced Session

This bill, to be called the "Knowledge, Accountability and Rights in Incarceration Markets Act," or the "KARIM Act," would impose additional taxes and fees on the operators of private prisons. First, a private prison operator that has entered into a contract with a public entity for the provision of correctional services would be subject to a fee based on the value of such contract with the public entity. The amount of the fee would be equal to eight percent of the consideration given, or contracted to be given, by the public entity to the taxpayer for the provision of correctional services. The revenues collected from this fee would be credited to a special, nonlapsing account within the General Fund, to be known as the "Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative Support Fund," and dedicated to the Department of Human Services to support the provision of legal services by accredited institutions of higher education through the Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative, or any other successor initiative or program. The bill also imposes a monthly fee based on the number of inmates who are detained at a taxpayer's private correctional facility. The amount of the fee would be $15 per inmate for each day such inmate is detained at the taxpayer's private correctional facility each month. The revenues collected from the inmate fee would be credited to a special, nonlapsing account within the General Fund, to be known as the "Private Prison Societal Rehabilitation Support Fund," and dedicated to support community-based programs related to food security, housing, recreation, job training, and youth mentorship. Finally, the bill would impose a percent private prison surtax on corporate operators of private prisons. This surtax would be imposed in addition to the corporation's tax liability under the State's Corporation Business Tax in an amount equal to three percent of the corporation's allocated taxable net income for any privilege period in which it operates a private correctional facility in the State. The revenues collected from the surtax would generally be credited to the Private Prison Societal Rehabilitation Support Fund" in support of the fund's purposes, except that one percent of these revenues would be required to be appropriated to support programs provided by the State, the county in which the private correctional facility of the taxpayer is located, and the municipality in which the private correctional facility of the taxpayer is located respectively.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Mitchelle Drulis (D)*,  Gabriel Rodriguez (D)*,  Marisa Sweeney (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee (on 02/19/2026)

Official Document