NJ Permit Transparency Bill Reintroduced

LegislationDeveloping

Scope
Jurisdiction	New Jersey
Impact	state
Key Entities
Primary sponsor, A.222	Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia
Primary sponsor, A.222	Assemblyman Robert Auth
Advocacy — urging residents to support the bill	NRA-ILA
NJ Governor; new administration under scrutiny for dashboard lapse	Governor Mikie Sherrill
Second Amendment commentator who flagged dashboard going dark	Rob Romano
Legal Issues
NYSRPA v. Bruen (2022) — subjective permit denials may be constitutionally impermissible AG Directive 2023-02 — current legal basis for dashboard reporting, vulnerable to reversal
What It Means
Without A.222, NJ's permit transparency dashboard can be shut down by any future AG with a single directive Existing data showed Black applicants denied at 2x+ the rate of white applicants for subjective, non-criminal reasons Denials for subjective reasons may violate NYSRPA v. Bruen — but only visible if reporting continues NJ gun owners should contact representatives to support A.222 and Senate companion S3414
Timeline
January 13, 2026	A.222 reintroduced in New Jersey Assembly
January 20, 2026	Governor Mikie Sherrill sworn in; dashboard updates cease
March 15, 2026	Rob Romano publicly notes dashboard has no 2026 entries
Related Laws

Bearing Arms

NJ Permit Transparency Bill Reintroduced

New Jersey's carry permit dashboard went dark under a new governor — a bill to codify reporting requirements may be the only fix

From The Boise Gun Club Handbook

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.

#Find a Dealer

Manufacturing Research(Rockledge, FL)
Bilstein Ballistics(Hoskins, NE)
STT(Gilbert, AZ)
Guardian Armaments(Sidman, PA)

#Discussion

Join the discussion on Campfire

Was this article helpful?

Loading comments...