Upgrades crime of endangering person with a disability or elderly person.

This bill (A2039) upgrades penalties for endangering individuals with disabilities or elderly people under New Jersey law. It expands the current law - which only applied to "developmental disabilities" - to cover all disabilities defined by the Law Against Discrimination (including physical, mental, neurological conditions, and HIV/AIDS) and adds "elderly person" (60+ years). Under the bill, recklessly endangering such individuals becomes a fourth-degree crime (up to 18 months jail), knowingly causing serious injury becomes a third-degree crime (3-5 years), and knowingly risking death becomes a second-degree crime (5-10 years). The bill broadens protections for vulnerable groups beyond the existing scope of the 2015 statute.