A 1126 New Jersey General Assembly · 2024-2025 Regular Session

Revises offense of agricultural trespass to eliminate mental state requirements, expand number and type of activities constituting agricultural trespass, and expand definition of "lands" susceptible to agricultural trespass.

This bill revises New Jersey's agricultural trespass law by removing the requirement that a person must have acted "knowingly or recklessly" to commit the offense. It broadens the offense to include any unauthorized entry onto agricultural lands (on foot, by vehicle, or otherwise) or damage to property (like fences, crops, or animals) without written permission from the landowner. The bill also expands the definition of "lands" protected under the law to include appurtenant woodland for Christmas tree production and lands used for agricultural equipment storage, provided landowners give notice via posting, fencing, or other visible means. These changes directly affect anyone entering agricultural lands without permission or damaging property there, while requiring landowners to maintain clear trespass prohibitions.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2024
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 9, 2024 Last action Jan 9, 2024
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Jan 9, 2024
Introduced
Introduced in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of John DiMaio
John DiMaio
RRepublican
NJ
23