The new “cleanup bill”, introduced by Sens. Nilsa Cruz-Perez and Nick Scutari, may have found a compromise acceptable to a majority of lawmakers as well as the governor. It would establish a $50 fine for possession of up to one ounce for those aged between 18 and 20 and a $100 fine for larger amounts, while those under 18 would be given a warning that would escalate upon repeat offenses rather than immediately imposing a civil penalty. The bill contains other provisions aimed at protecting young marijuana users from law enforcement interventions such as forbidding the scent of cannabis as probable cause to conduct a search and requiring police officers to turn on their body cameras before apprehending a suspect. The bill would also establish a 26-person task force charged with reviewing underage cannabis consumption and police interactions with underage users.
“It’s my understanding we have broad agreement,” Scutari said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It may not be unanimous, but we have a majority. I think the governor will sign this simultaneously along with the other two bills that will create the cannabis industry and stop arrests.”
The compromise bill also has the backing of the New Jersey chapter of the ACLU which heralded the task force’s creation as laying “the groundwork for future reforms, providing a clearer look into how enforcement is carried out in practice. If racial disparities persist—we’ll know.”