A 5034 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Establishes that Superintendent of State Police holds rank of Colonel of State Police; permits appointment of retirant without reenrollment in SPRS.

This bill establishes that the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police will hold the rank of Colonel and be authorized to wear the corresponding uniform. It requires the superintendent to be a graduate of the State Police Academy and to maintain an active law enforcement license if they do not already possess one. Additionally, the legislation allows retired state police officers to be appointed as superintendent without needing to rejoin the retirement system, regardless of their age or previous retirant status. These changes directly affect the leadership structure and hiring qualifications for the top position within the state police force.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

May 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

General Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced May 7, 2026 Last action Jun 4, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Reprint · 6 edits

MODERATE

The First Reprint version of A5034 makes several substantive amendments reported by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 14, 2026. The most significant changes are: removing the superintendent's dual role as State Director of Emergency Management, replacing a fixed $210,000 salary with a general 'as provided by law' reference, simplifying the academy certification requirement to simply being a graduate, and restructuring the retirement system reemployment provisions to be less detailed. Additional sponsors were added.

SCOPE

The provision requiring the Superintendent of State Police to also serve as State Director of Emergency Management (former section e) was entirely deleted, separating these two roles.

Additional sponsors were added: Assemblyman Joe Danielsens (District 17) and Assemblywoman Luann M. Peterpaul (District 11), plus co-sponsors Drulis, Lopez, Kane, Stanley, and Murphy.

FISCAL

The fixed salary of $210,000 (citing P.L.1974, c.55) was removed and replaced with the general language 'as shall be provided by law,' removing the specific dollar amount from this bill.

ELIGIBILITY

The academy requirement was simplified from 'complete, update, or renew any basic police officer certification required to hold the position' to simply 'be a graduate of the New Jersey State Police Academy.'

The retirement reemployment section was significantly simplified. Detailed protections (bona fide severance requirement, prearrangement prohibition, salary not enhancing retirement allowance) were removed. The language changed from a retirant 'shall hold the rank of Colonel' to one who 'shall be eligible to hold the rank of Colonel,' shifting from a mandate to an eligibility standard.

REQUIREMENT

A new condition was added for the law enforcement license: the superintendent only needs to apply for and obtain an initial or renewal license 'if the superintendent does not already hold an active license.'

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the General Assembly by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 21, 2026

Committee

Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

upper

May 18, 2026

Committee

Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee

upper

May 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed by the Assembly (61-14-0)

lower

May 11, 2026

Committee

Reported and Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee

lower

May 7, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee

lower

3 primary · 5 co-sponsors