NJ Permit Transparency Bill Reintroduced

New Jersey's permit-to-carry dashboard stopped updating the moment a new governor took office, and nobody in Trenton is explaining why.

Catch up quick:

• Former AG Matthew Platkin's 2023 directive forced public reporting on permit application statistics
• That data revealed Black applicants were denied at more than double the rate of white applicants — for non-criminal, subjective reasons
• The majority of all denials across racial lines were for subjective criteria that conflict with NYSRPA v. Bruen

State of play: Governor Mikie Sherrill was sworn in January 20. Her administration brought a new AG and new State Police leadership with it. The dashboard — live since 2024 — hasn't logged a single 2026 entry. Second Amendment commentator Rob Romano flagged the gap publicly on March 15. NRA-ILA followed with an alert shortly after.

The problem underneath the problem: Platkin's directive isn't law. It's an administrative order, and it dies the moment any attorney general issues a new one. The Sherrill administration is under zero legal obligation to keep the dashboard running.

That's exactly why Assembly Bill 222 matters. Reintroduced January 13 by Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia and Assemblyman Robert Auth — both with solid Second Amendment records — the bill would require state and local law enforcement to submit anonymized application data to the AG's office and mandate public reporting. Senate companion bill S3414 runs parallel.

"While the prior administration was producing some of this information, the Sherrill Administration is either dragging its feet or is choosing to sweep this under the rug." — NRA-ILA

Between the lines: The data this dashboard produced wasn't just inconvenient — it was politically radioactive. It documented a permitting system denying people constitutional rights at racially disparate rates for reasons Bruen explicitly prohibits. An administration inclined toward gun control has every incentive to let that reporting quietly lapse.

What's next: A.222 needs to move out of committee. NRA-ILA is pushing New Jersey residents to contact their representatives directly — their action page is live. Without the bill passing, the dashboard's fate rests entirely on whatever the current AG decides to prioritize.