A 1690 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Requires civil service examination for police and correctional police officers to include questions to identify implicit racial bias.

This bill requires New Jersey's Civil Service Commission to add questions about implicit racial bias to the entry-level civil service exam for all law enforcement officer applicants, including municipal police, correctional officers, and sheriff's deputies. It directly affects candidates applying for these positions by mandating that the exam assesses unconscious biases related to race and other characteristics. The key mechanism is the Commission's obligation to include these questions, developed with testing professionals, before the exam is administered. The law aims to address implicit bias in hiring practices through this specific examination requirement.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Jan 13, 2026
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Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
DDemocratic
NJ
15