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NJ A220
Bill
Status
Introduced
1/13/2026
Primary Sponsor
Dawn Fantasia
Click for details
AI Summary
- Expands New Jersey's human trafficking statute (N.J.S.A. 2C:13-8) to include recruiting, coercing, or using minors under 18 to participate in criminal street gangs or drug distribution schemes
- Adds human trafficking to the list of offenses for which prosecutors may seek to waive juvenile court jurisdiction and try offenders as adults if the defendant was 15 or older at the time of the offense
- Broadens methods constituting human trafficking to include stalking, invasion of privacy, sexual extortion, and theft by extortion, in addition to existing criminal coercion provisions
- Expands the criminal coercion statute to include threats to a person's education, employment, child custody, or family relationships as prohibited coercive conduct
- Named "Weston's Law" after 15-year-old Weston Fundner, who died in 2022 from a fentanyl overdose after being coerced by a teen involved in the drug trade
Legislative Description
"Weston's Law"; extends crime of human trafficking to include recruiting or coercing juvenile to join gang or drug trafficking scheme.
Judiciary
Last Action
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee
1/13/2026
Committee Referrals
Judiciary1/13/2026
Full Bill Text
No bill text available