S 2163 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Creates disorderly persons offense for persons who conceal or attempt to conceal their identity while committing another crime or offense.

S 2163 creates a new disorderly persons offense (a misdemeanor-level charge) for individuals who wear masks or disguises with the intent to instill fear, hinder prosecution, or avoid arrest while committing another crime in New Jersey. It specifically exempts those wearing masks for medical, religious, or expressive purposes. The law requires that the person must already face charges for the underlying crime (e.g., theft or assault) and was wearing the mask during that offense. Violators face penalties of up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both, and this charge cannot be merged with the original crime for sentencing.

Issues: ✗ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Jun 11, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Reprint · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was reprinted after Senate Law and Public Safety Committee action on June 11, 2026. The main substantive change broadens the scope of underlying offenses that can trigger the mask offense from crimes under Title 2C (the criminal code) to violations of any state law. The STATEMENT section was removed as part of the reprint process.

SCOPE

Subsection b.(1) now requires that the person be charged with an underlying crime or offense under Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes OR any other law of this State, rather than being limited to Title 2C offenses only. This means the mask offense can be added as a charge when someone commits a violation of any state statute, not just criminal code offenses.

TECHNICAL

The STATEMENT section (a non-binding explanatory summary) was removed in the reprint version, which is standard practice after committee action.

Bill designation changed from S2163 to S2163 1R (First Reprint) and status updated to reflect committee reporting on June 11, 2026 with amendments.

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 11, 2026

Committee

Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors