Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ELLEN J. PARK
District 37 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Reynolds-Jackson and Tucker
SYNOPSIS
Establishes protections for immigrants interacting with government agencies; designates "New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning reforms to build confidence among residents when interacting with public agencies, designating the New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act, and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. This act seeks to protect the safety and constitutional rights of all people in the State of New Jersey and to protect the State's limited resources.
b. New Jersey is a State of immigrants and has the second highest percentage of foreign-born residents of all the states, with immigrants making up nearly one in every four people in the State.
c. More than forty percent of children in New Jersey live in immigrant families, with at least one foreign-born parent.
d. In recognition of immigrants' significant contributions to the strength of New Jersey, the Legislature has a substantial and compelling interest to ensure this State remains a place where the rights and dignity of all people are maintained and protected, regardless of their immigration status.
e. The enforcement of federal immigration law is the responsibility of the federal government and falls outside the scope of State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies' public and community safety priorities.
f. Data from across the country reveals that when State, county, and municipal agencies assist federal immigration authorities to carry out federal law enforcement, immigrant communities and their loved ones are deterred and discouraged from assisting or seeking assistance from public agencies, including health and public safety services.
g. State, county, and municipal agencies, including public schools and hospitals, should be safe and accessible to all eligible community members who are seeking services. Individuals should not be deterred from seeking services to which they are eligible merely because of their immigration status or the status of their loved ones.
h. New Jersey is a healthier, safer, and more prosperous State when all residents access the services for which they are eligible without fear. Coordinated efforts of all relevant local, county, and State agencies are required to create the conditions that empower residents to seek the help they need from public services, including health and public safety services.
i. State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies incur costs when assisting federal immigration authorities, which include the costs of extending detention time, law enforcement personnel time, tracking and responding to immigration detainers, liability for unconstitutional detention and other violations of constitutional rights. These law enforcement agencies are not reimbursed by the federal government for the entire costs of the enforcement activities, leaving fewer resources available to meet local responsibilities.
j. Unlike criminal detainers, which are supported by a warrant and require probable cause, immigration detainer requests do not require a warrant or any established standard of proof, such as reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
k. Immigration detainers have erroneously been placed on United States citizens, as well as immigrants who are not deportable, and federal courts in multiple jurisdictions have found that honoring these detainers violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
l. Therefore, it is fitting and proper to direct State, county, and municipal entities to attend to local priorities rather than carrying out costly federal immigration enforcement initiatives that contravene those priorities and harm New Jersey communities.
2. As used in this act:
"Civil immigration warrant" means any warrant for a violation of federal civil immigration law issued by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Customs and Border Protection, or any division or subsidiary of the United States Department of Homeland Security or its successor agencies that is not approved or ordered by a federal Article III judge or magistrate judge, or the state equivalent, including administrative warrants entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center database.
"Federal immigration authorities" means one or more officers, employees, or persons otherwise paid by or acting as agents of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Customs and Border Protection or any division thereof, or one or more other officers, employees, or persons otherwise paid by or acting as agents of the United States Department of Homeland Security or its successor agencies charged with immigration enforcement.
"Government entity" means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State Government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission or other instrumentality within or created by such department and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality or agency, including any public institution of higher education. The term also means any political subdivision of the State or combination of political subdivisions, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission or other instrumentality within or created by a political subdivision of the State or combination of political subdivisions, and any independent authority, commission, instrumentality or agency created by a political subdivision or combination of political subdivisions.
"Health care facilities" shall have the same meaning as provided in subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-2).
"Immigration detainer" means a document issued by a federal immigration authority that is not approved or ordered by a federal Article III judge or magistrate judge, or the state equivalent, and requests a law enforcement agency or law enforcement official to provide notice of release or maintain custody of a person beyond the time at which the person would otherwise be released from custody; "immigration detainer" shall include I-247 forms and other forms issued under Section 1226 or 1357 of Title 8 of the United States Code or Section 236 or 287 of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
"Immigration enforcement" means any effort to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal civil immigration law, and includes any effort to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any violations of Title 8 of the United States Code.
"Judicial warrant" means a warrant based on probable cause and issued by a federal Article III judge or magistrate judge, or the state equivalent, that authorizes federal immigration authorities to search a location or take into custody the person who is the subject of the warrant.
"Law enforcement official" means any person with the power to criminally charge, arrest, or detain individuals, and shall include correctional police officers, prosecutors, and other law enforcement officers and any other person employed by a State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency; the term also shall include employees of school and police security departments, parole officers, probation officers, and pretrial services employees.
"Notification request" means a request that a State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency inform federal immigration authorities of the release date or time of an individual in the local law enforcement agency's custody.
"Record" means any paper, written or printed book, document, drawing, map, plan, photograph, microfilm, data processed or image processed document, information stored or maintained electronically or by sound-recording or in a similar device, or any copy thereof.
"School police and security departments" means the police, security, and other law enforcement departments of a public or publicly-funded educational institution appointed or established pursuant to P.L.1970, c.211 (C.18A:6-4.2 et seq.).
"State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency" means any agency, or elected, appointed, or hired officials, authorized to enforce or prosecute criminal statutes, regulations, or local ordinances, to enforce or prosecute juvenile delinquency statutes, regulations, or local ordinances, or to operate jails or prisons, or to maintain custody of detained individuals in the State; the term also shall include school police and security departments, the New Jersey State Parole Board, any juvenile parole panel, probation divisions, and pretrial services programs.
"Transfer request" means a request that a State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or law enforcement official facilitate the transfer of an individual in its custody to federal immigration authorities, and includes, but is not limited to, DHS Form I-247X.
3. a. Government entities and healthcare facilities may collect information relating to a person's immigration status, citizenship status, place of birth, social security number, and individual taxpayer identification number only when this information is strictly necessary to assess eligibility for or to administer the requested public services, benefits, or programs that the agency, division, or facility is charged with administering.
b. Any record and any information, whether written or oral, concerning a person that is solicited, made, or kept by any public agency or officer thereof for the purpose of assessing eligibility for, or administering the services, benefits, or program that is requested, used, or delivered shall not be:
(1) a governmental record pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), known commonly as the open public records act, except that an election agency shall disclose a candidate's citizenship status where such information is a requirement for elected office. As used in this paragraph, "election agency" means the New Jersey Division of Elections, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, county boards of elections, county superintendents of elections, county clerks, municipal clerks, fire district board clerks, school district business administrators, and school district board secretaries; and
(2) disclosed, except as required to administer the benefits, services, or programs pursuant to New Jersey law, federal law, or as required by a valid court order or warrant issued by a federal Article III judge or magistrate judge, or the State equivalent.
c. This section shall not prohibit the sharing of records or information when the subject of that record or information has knowingly provided written consent in their language of choice allowing the record or information to be provided to the person or agency requesting the record or information. The written consent shall include:
(1) the exact record or information to be shared;
(2) the purpose for sharing the record or information;
(3) a statement clarifying that consent is voluntary and declining to consent shall not result in discrimination or retaliation by the government entity;
(4) a statement clarifying that consent may be revoked, but that revocation does not impact a record or information already shared via prior written consent provided pursuant to this section; and
(5) the person or agency to receive the record or information.
d. All government entities shall review their confidentiality policies, guidance, and regulations and identify any changes necessary to ensure compliance with the provision of this section by the agency and the entities under its authority. Any necessary changes to those policies shall be made as expeditiously as possible, consistent with agency or department procedures but no later than one calendar year following the effective date of this act, and published prominently on the agencies' Internet website.
e. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or in any way restrict any action where the prohibition or restriction would be contrary to federal law.
4. a. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Public Defender, shall prepare a uniform written notice explaining the provisions of section 6 of the New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act, in plain language. This notice shall be considered a vital document pursuant to P.L.2023, c.263 (C.52:14-40 et seq.). The Attorney General shall ensure this notice and its translations are posted to the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety and distributed to all State, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, which shall display the notices prominently in the public entrance area of each agency's office, visible to those in the agency's custody, and on the agency's Internet website.
b. No later than 180 days following the effective date of this act and in consultation with stakeholders serving or representing immigrant communities, the Attorney General shall develop standardized training and guidance for all law enforcement officials on compliance with this act. The Attorney General shall provide this mandatory training to every State, county and municipal law enforcement agency within one year of the effective date of this act, and periodically thereafter as determined by the Attorney General. Every State, county and municipal law enforcement officer appointed after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall, within 12 months of their appointment, satisfactorily complete the training course required by this section.
c. The Department of Human Services, in consultation with stakeholders serving or representing immigrant communities, shall develop and lead a multilingual campaign to promote public awareness of the provisions of section 6 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). All written materials produced pursuant to this section shall be vital documents pursuant to P.L. 2023, c.263 (C.52:14-40 et seq.). As a part of the campaign to promote awareness of the provisions of section 6 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the department shall, at a minimum, publish the following on its Internet website no later than 180 days following the enactment of this act:
(1) the text of section 6 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill); and
(2) a summary and explanation, in plain language, of the terms and provisions of section 6 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
5. a. The Attorney General, in consultation with the appropriate government entities and with stakeholders serving or representing immigrant communities, shall develop model policies for sensitive locations. These locations shall include health care facilities, public libraries, public schools, domestic violence shelters, emergency shelters, family shelters, youth shelters, and any other location deemed appropriate by the Attorney General, to ensure that these institutions remain safe and accessible to all State residents, regardless of immigration status. The model policies shall ensure that eligible individuals are not deterred from seeking services or engaging with State, county, or municipal public agencies or government entities. In addition, to the fullest extent possible consistent with State and federal law, the model policies shall prohibit these institutions from:
(1) requesting or collecting information relating to citizenship, immigration status, place of birth, social security number, and individual taxpayer identification number, except where required to determine eligibility for services, benefits, or programs provided or administered by the institution in question;
(2) permitting immigration enforcement on the premises of these institutions, in areas not open without restriction to the general public; and
(3) assisting or participating in immigration enforcement.
b. The model policies shall define "assisting or participating in immigration enforcement" as provided in paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section to include, but not be limited to, the activities prohibited by section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) to the extent relevant to the activities of the institution governed by the model policy.
c. The Attorney General shall publish these model policies on the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety no later than one calendar year following the enactment of this act.
d. The government entities with authority to regulate public schools, health care facilities, public libraries, youth shelters, emergency shelters, family shelters, and domestic violence shelters shall adopt the model policies established pursuant to this section no later than 180 days after issuance of model policies pursuant to subsection c. of this section. The government entities shall order public schools, health care facilities, public libraries, youth shelters, emergency shelters, family shelters, and domestic violence shelters under their authority to comply with model policies adopted pursuant to this section or more protective policies and to post the adopted policies prominently at each service location in an area visible to the public. Any facilities that are not regulated by a State agency shall be encouraged to adopt the model policy.
6. a. A State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or official shall not:
(1) stop, question, arrest, search, or detain any individual based on actual or suspected citizenship or immigration status, or actual or suspected violations of federal civil immigration law;
(2) inquire about an individual's immigration status, citizenship, place of birth, or eligibility for a social security number;
(3) make an arrest, detain, or prolong the detention of an individual based on civil immigration warrants or immigration detainers;
(4) use agency or department moneys, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal program requiring registration of individuals on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, citizenship, or national or ethnic origin; or
(5) make agency or department databases available to anyone or any entity for the purpose of immigration enforcement or investigation or enforcement of any federal program requiring registration of individuals on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, citizenship, or national or ethnic origin.
b. Any agreements, policies, or practices made prior to the effective date of this act that are in conflict with the provisions of paragraph (5) of subsection a. of this section shall be void on the effective date of this act.
c. A State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or official shall not provide assistance to federal immigration authorities by:
(1) participating in civil immigration enforcement operations;
(2) providing to federal immigration authorities any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular person;
(3) providing access to any State, county, or municipal law enforcement equipment, office space, database, or property;
(4) providing access to a detained individual for an interview;
(5) facilitating or complying with immigration detainers, civil immigration warrants, notification requests, and transfer requests from federal immigration authorities;
(6) continuing to detain a person past the time the person would otherwise be eligible for release from custody based solely on an immigration detainer or civil immigration warrant;
(7) entering into, modifying, renewing, or extending any agreement to exercise federal immigration authority or conduct immigration enforcement pursuant to section 287(g) of Title 8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §1357(g), or otherwise exercising federal civil immigration authority or conducting immigration enforcement outside of the purview of 287(g) of Title 8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §1357(g); or
(8) providing or sharing funds, property, equipment, personnel, or access to facilities or real property not open to the general public for purposes of engaging in, assisting, supporting, or facilitating immigration enforcement.
d. Upon receiving an immigration detainer, notification request, civil immigration warrant, or transfer request concerning a person in custody, the receiving State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or official shall provide a copy of the document to the person, and inform the person whether the agency or official intends to comply. If the agency or official intends to comply, a written explanation specifying the legal basis for that action shall be furnished to the person in custody.
e. Subsections a. b. and c. of this section shall be enforceable under the "New Jersey Civil Rights Act," P.L.2004, c.143 (C.10:6-1 et seq.) or any other manner provided by law.
f. Nothing in this section shall prevent any State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency from responding to a valid judicial warrant, court order, or writ issued by a federal Article III judge or magistrate judge, or the State equivalent.
g. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit, or in any way restrict, any action where the prohibition or restriction would be contrary to federal law.
7. a. Each State, county, and municipal law enforcement agency shall submit to the Attorney General a report within 180 days of the effective date of this act and within 30 days after the end of each State fiscal year thereafter. The reports shall provide:
(1) the number of detainer requests, transfer requests, and notification requests made by immigration authorities, and the responses of the State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency. For any request that was granted, the report shall specify any legal basis for granting that request;
(2) the number of interviews requested and the number of interviews conducted, either in person or telephonically, by immigration authorities of people in State, county, or municipal law enforcement custody. For each interview conducted, the report shall specify any legal basis for granting the interview;
(3) any other requests made by immigration authorities for the agency's participation in immigration enforcement, the responses of the State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency, and the legal basis for granting the request; and
(4) to the extent the law enforcement agency has knowledge, any information about State, county, and municipal databases to which immigration authorities have had access to at any time in the course of the year, including: the name of the database; an overview of information available on the database; the purpose for which immigration authorities have access to this database; the process through which immigration authorities requested access and agencies reviewed this request, if applicable; any legal basis for providing immigration authorities access to the database; and the frequency with which immigration authorities accessed the database over the course of the year.
b. The Attorney General shall initially publish the information submitted pursuant to this section on the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety within 90 days of receipt and within 90 days after the end of the State fiscal year thereafter.
c. The Attorney General shall promulgate regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to ensure compliance by State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies with the annual reporting requirements established pursuant to this section. The regulations shall be promulgated within 90 days following the effective date of this act.
d. The Attorney General shall report annually to the Governor and the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) a summary of each law enforcement agency's compliance with the provisions of this act. The report shall append the submissions by State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies required pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
8. The provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) are severable; if any provision or application of any provision of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) is held invalid by any court, the holding or judgment shall not affect the remaining provisions or applications of the provisions thereof.
9. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill creates a uniform code for State and local government entities, as well as health care facilities, regarding the use of resources to aid federal immigration law enforcement, and designates the "New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act."
Under the bill, the definition of government entities includes any of the principal departments of the executive branch of State government and any parts or creations thereof, any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality or agency, including any public institution of higher education. The bill's definition also includes political subdivisions of the State and combinations of political subdivisions, independent authorities, commissions, instrumentalities and agencies created by a political subdivision or combination of political subdivisions.
Under the bill, government entities and healthcare facilities are prohibited from collecting certain personal and identifying information unless it is strictly necessary for program or service administration. Any record resulting from that collection, whether written or oral, would not be a government record under the "Open Public Records Act" unless an election agency requires it to ascertain the eligibility of a candidate when citizenship is required for an elected office. Any record also shall not be disclosed except as required to administer benefits or services pursuant to State or federal law, or valid court order or warrant, issued by a federal Article III judge or magistrate or the State equivalent. The bill provides that the prohibition on sharing information may be waived if the subject of the record or information provides written consent in that person's preferred language. The written consent shall include the following:
(1) the exact record or information to be shared;
(2) the purpose for sharing the record or information;
(3) a statement clarifying that consent is voluntary and declining to consent shall not result in discrimination or retaliation by the government entity;
(4) a statement clarifying that consent may be revoked, but that revocation does not impact a record or information already shared via prior written consent provided pursuant to this section; and
(5) the person or agency to receive the record or information.
The bill requires government entities to review their confidentiality policies, guidance and recommendations to identify any changes necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of the bill and make any changes as expeditiously as possible, but no later than one year after the bill becomes effective. The bill also requires these entities to share their policies prominently on their Internet websites.
This bill also requires the Attorney General, in consultation with the Public Defender, to prepare a written notice explaining in plain language the provisions of section 6 of the bill. Section 6 of the bill details the prohibition of certain actions by law enforcement. The bill requires the notice and all translations to be posted to the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety and to be considered vital documents pursuant to P.L.2023, c.263 (C.52:14-40 et seq.). The Attorney General is also required to consult with stakeholders serving or representing immigrant communities in the development of standardized training and guidance for law enforcement to comply with the bill's provisions. The AG also shall provide mandatory training to all State, county and local law enforcement agencies within one year of the bill's effective date. Any newly sworn officer is required to complete this training within a year of the officer's appointment. The Department of Human Services is required to consult with stakeholders serving or representing immigrant communities to develop and lead a multilingual campaign to promote public awareness of the bill's requirements for law enforcement agencies. As part of the awareness campaign, DHS is required to publish the text of section 6 of the bill's provisions and a plain language summary and explanation of those requirements on its Internet website within 180 days of the bill's enactment.
Under the bill, the Attorney General is also required to consult with other government entities and stakeholders in the development of model policies for sensitive locations. These locations include health care facilities, public schools, public libraries, shelters, and any other locations deemed appropriate by the Attorney General to ensure that eligible individuals are not deterred from seeking services or engaging with government entities. The model policies prohibit the request or collection of certain information regarding a person's immigration status, place of birth or taxpayer identification except to determine eligibility for services or program benefits. The model policies prohibit assistance or participation of immigration enforcement, and prohibit the permission of immigration enforcement on entity premises that are not open without restriction to the general public. The Attorney General is required to publish the model policies on the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety. The bill requires government entities with authority to regulate sensitive places to adopt the model policies within 180 days of issuance by the Attorney General's office and encourages facilities not regulated by government entities to adopt the policies.
The bill prohibits certain actions by law enforcement. Specifically, State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies and officials shall not:
(1) stop, question, arrest, search, or detain any individual based on actual or suspected citizenship or immigration status, or actual or suspected violations of federal civil immigration law;
(2) inquire about an individual's immigration status, citizenship, place of birth, or eligibility for a social security number;
(3) make an arrest, detain, or prolong the detention of an individual based on civil immigration warrants;
(4) use agency or department moneys, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal program requiring registration of individuals on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, citizenship, or national or ethnic origin; or
(5) make agency or department databases available to anyone or any entity for the purpose of immigration enforcement or investigation or enforcement of any federal program requiring registration of individuals on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, citizenship, or national or ethnic origin. The bill nullifies any agreement, policy or practice in place that is in conflict with this clause.
Law enforcement agencies in the State are also prohibited from:
(1) participating in civil immigration enforcement operations;
(2) providing to federal immigration authorities any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular person;
(3) providing access to any State, county, or municipal law enforcement equipment, office space, database, or property;
(4) providing access to a detained individual for an interview;
(5) facilitating or complying with immigration detainers, notification requests, and transfer requests from federal immigration authorities;
(6) continuing to detain a person past the time the person would otherwise be eligible for release from custody based solely on an immigration detainer or civil immigration warrant;
(7) entering into, modifying, renewing, or extending any agreement to exercise federal immigration authority or conduct immigration enforcement pursuant to section 287(g) of Title 8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §1357(g), or otherwise exercising federal civil immigration authority or conducting immigration enforcement outside of the purview of 287(g) of Title 8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §1357(g); or
(8) providing or sharing funds, property, equipment, personnel, or access to facilities or real property not open to the general public for purposes of engaging in, assisting, supporting, or facilitating immigration enforcement.
The bill provides that violations of the prohibitions on police conduct in the bill would be enforceable under the "New Jersey Civil Rights Act," P.L.2004, c.143.
If an agency or law enforcement official intends to comply with an immigration detainer, notification request, civil immigration warrant, or transfer request concerning a person in custody, a written explanation specifying the legal basis for that action is required to be given to the person is custody.
Lastly, the bill requires each State, county, and municipal law enforcement agency to submit to the Attorney General a report that includes:
(1) the number of detainer requests, transfer requests, and notification requests made by immigration authorities, and the responses of the State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency. For any request that was granted, the report shall specify any legal basis for granting that request;
(2) the number of interviews requested and the number of interviews conducted, either in person or telephonically, by immigration authorities of people in State, county, or municipal law enforcement custody. For each interview conducted, the report shall specify any legal basis for granting the interview;
(3) any other requests made by immigration authorities for the agency's participation in immigration enforcement, the responses of the State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency, and the legal basis for granting the request; and
(4) to the extent the law enforcement agency has knowledge, any information about State, county, and municipal databases to which immigration authorities have had access to at any time in the course of the year, including: the name of the database; an overview of information available on the database; the purpose for which immigration authorities have access to this database; the process through which immigration authorities requested access and agencies reviewed this request, if applicable; any legal basis for providing immigration authorities access to the database; and the frequency with which immigration authorities accessed the database over the course of the year.
Law enforcement agencies have 180 days after the effective date of the bill to produce the first report and must then annually submit a report within 30 days of the end of the State's fiscal year. The Attorney General is initially required to publish the report on the office's website within 90 days of receipt, and then within 90 days of the end of the fiscal year thereafter. The Attorney General is also required to annually submit to the Governor and Legislature a report on each law enforcement agency's compliance with the provisions of this act.