ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 4641
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: SEPTEMBER 29, 2022
The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably Assembly
Bill No. 4641.
This bill would change the factors to be considered by the boards
of State or locally administered retirement systems hearing pension
forfeiture cases concerning public employees. It would emphasize
the nature of the misconduct, the relationship between the
misconduct and the person’s public duties, and the person’s moral
turpitude, and require the board to direct the person’s entire pension
be forfeited based on these factors. Additional factors may only be
used subsequently to mitigate this full forfeiture to a partial
forfeiture. Where a forfeiture is warranted, this bill requires that
the person receive a refund of their contributions, but allows for the
board to determine whether that refund is with or without any
accrued interest.
This bill would require the forfeiture of the pension or retirement
benefit of a person if the person is convicted of any crime of the
first or second degree, or the equivalent under the laws of another
state or of the United States, when the offense is related to the
person’s performance in or circumstances flowing from the public
office or employment held by the person. This bill also specifies
that pension forfeiture applies in cases that result in qualifying
guilty or nolo contendere pleas, in addition to convictions.
This bill would also open a person’s public pension to
garnishment in order to fulfill court ordered restitution of public
funds when a person has been convicted of, or plead guilty or nolo
contendere to, certain offenses.