STOP A4532/S1290: Don’t Hand Traffickers a Head Start
At its core, A4532/S1290 is not simply about reproductive health care. It fundamentally changes how New Jersey participates in interstate law enforcement cooperation, and it does so in a way that creates real risks to public safety, legal integrity, and good governance.
First, this bill undermines effective cooperation among law enforcement agencies.
Automated license plate reader data is routinely used to investigate violent crimes, human trafficking, kidnappings, drug trafficking, stolen cars, and organized criminal networks.
These crimes do not respect borders, and quick access to data is often critical.
This bill prohibits sharing information unless an out-of-state agency signs a written declaration promising not to use it in specific investigations.
That requirement is bureaucratic, untested, and unrealistic in fast-moving situations. It increases the likelihood that an investigation could be delayed or fail altogether.
Second, the bill exposes individual officers and personnel to civil penalties if they inadvertently violate it. This is a complex standard applied to front-line officers who frequently respond to urgent requests. We should not be putting law enforcement in the position of choosing between public safety and personal liability.
Third, the bill claims to protect privacy, but it does not address the privacy risks posed by ALPR systems. There are no limits on data retention, no transparency, no audit requirements, and no oversight of private vendors. Instead, the bill establishes a narrow, politically motivated exception, leaving all other uses of ALPR data unregulated.
If the goal is protecting privacy, this is not a privacy bill. Real privacy legislation would be comprehensive and even-handed.
Fourth, this bill invites interstate conflict and potential litigation. By restricting cooperation based on the anticipated use of data in another state’s legal system, New Jersey risks violating constitutional principles and creating friction with neighboring states that routinely cooperate on major investigations.
Finally, this bill attempts to create a selective data sanctuary policy. Once we establish a precedent for selectively refusing cooperation based on New Jersey’s political preferences, it becomes very easy to extend that logic to other issues—firearms, drugs, immigration, or anything else.
We should not normalize a patchwork approach to law enforcement cooperation where states pick and choose which crimes they will assist with based on politics.
In closing, this bill will:
Hinder legitimate criminal investigations
Create legal exposure for law enforcement
Fail to protect privacy
Invite litigation
And undermine cooperative policing
There are better ways to address privacy concerns without endangering public safety.
A4532/S1290 is a human trafficker's dream. Not only can he take his pregnant slave for a forced abortion in New Jersey at taxpayers' expense, but with the passage of this bill, there is no way to track him or trace him while he uses his slave to make more money. And let us not forget, many times, the human trafficker uses an underage female minor.
This bill is a mess. Full of holes, full of legal challenges, and wholly unenforceable.
The Center for Garden State Families stands for the natural family, the protection of the vulnerable — including unborn children and trafficking victims — and honest government. We adamantly oppose A4532/S1290.
Rev. Gregory Quinlan Testimony before NJ Assembly Appropriations Committee Dec 2025.
Talking Points for friends and family
This is an interstate-cooperation bill dressed up as a reproductive-health bill.
ALPR data is used for trafficking, kidnapping, homicide, stolen cars, and organized crime — crimes that cross state lines.
A written-declaration requirement is unworkable in an emergency.
Civil penalties on individual officers will chill cooperation.
The bill does not limit retention, require audits, or regulate vendors. It is not a privacy bill.
Selective non-cooperation sets a precedent New Jersey will later regret.
Traffickers already move victims across state lines. This bill makes it harder to follow them.
Minors are frequently among trafficking victims. That fact cannot be ignored.
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