A 2946 New Jersey General Assembly · 2024-2025 Regular Session

Criminalizes failure to return erroneous person-to-person electronic payments following proper notification.

This New Jersey bill (A2946) makes it a crime to keep money received by mistake through digital payment apps like Venmo or Zelle after being notified of the error. Specifically, if someone receives an incorrect electronic payment from another person and fails to return the funds within 30 days of proper notification, they commit theft under state law. The law directly affects individuals using peer-to-peer payment services who accidentally receive more money than intended. It adds a clear 30-day deadline for returning erroneous payments and defines "payment processor" to cover these digital transactions. This is a specific amendment to existing theft statutes, not a broad policy change.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2024
Committee Review
Oct 2024
General Assembly Passage
Oct 2024
Senate Passage
Dec 2025
Signed into Law
Jan 2026
Introduced Jan 9, 2024 Signed Jan 12, 2026
Floor votes · Senate Dec 18, 2025 · General Assembly Oct 28, 2024

How they voted

380
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 40
Dec 18, 2025
D Democratic25
24 Yea 1
96% Yea
R Republican15
14 Yea 1
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
8
Key actions
4
Committee
2
Jan 12, 2026
Signed into law
Approved P.L.2025, c.237.
executive
Dec 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Passed Both Houses) (38-0)
upper
Oct 28, 2024
Lower · Passed
Passed Assembly (63-5-9)
lower
Oct 21, 2024
Lower · Passed
Reported out of Assembly Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading
lower
Feb 22, 2024
Committee
Reported out of Assembly Committee with Amendments and Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee
lower
Jan 9, 2024
Introduced
Introduced in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee
lower
3 primary · 4 co-sponsors

Sponsors