2023 New Jersey Statutes 2C:7-20. Findings, declarations relative to a study of “Megan’s Law.”
Recently, however, questions have been raised concerning the implementation of Megan’s Law, and whether the law is not consistently applied in the 21 counties. Published reports indicate that there are great variations among the counties in the number of sex offenders whose registration information is published on the Internet. In addition, many municipalities have limited where sex offenders may reside, or banned residency by them altogether. It also has been observed that sex offenders seem to be relocating at a higher rate to certain areas of the State, suggesting that the law is being implemented differently in some areas. Since the evidence indicates that Megan’s Law is being applied inconsistently across the State, the Legislature finds that a study should be undertaken to identify the causes of these inconsistencies and to recommend procedures to make the law’s application more uniform and equitable.
L.2007, c.227, s.1.