With just a day left of his tenure, Gov. Chris Christie announced Monday that he has signed 109 new bills into law (see below), including one that places additional restrictions on gun ownership. He also signed a bill that takes power away from the New Jersey SPCA after recent concerns about the organization's management practices became public.

Christie signed legislation sponsored by Democratic Sens. Raymond Lesniak and Richard Codey and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg to ban the sale and possession of "bump stocks" and "trigger cranks," accessories that dramatically increase the rate of fire for rifles and effectively convert guns into fully automatic weapons. A bump stock was used by the Las Vegas gunman in an attack that killed 58 people last year and wounded more than 500 others.

"These are simple, easy-to-use devices that increase the firepower and killing power of firearms," said Lesniak, a prime sponsor of the bill. "The Las Vegas gunman used one and the consequences were tragic. The rapid and indiscriminate rate of shooting can be deadly. There is no legitimate need for these devices." The law, S-3477, was approved by the Senate with a vote of 27-0.

Bump stocks, which are currently legal in New Jersey, fit in place of the stock of a rifle and allow a shooter to use the recoil of the gun to activate the trigger more rapidly. This simple modification allowed the Las Vegas gunman to fire at a rate of 400 to 800 rounds a minute, according to law enforcement officials. A trigger crank is a device attached to a firearm that repeatedly activates the trigger of the firearm through the use of a lever or other part that is turned in a circular motion. "The Las Vegas shooter was able to convert this firearm into an automatic weapon with this device, leaving the crowd defenseless against the nonstop barrage of bullets he fired into the crowd from the vantage point of the hotel," said Codey. "It was a brutal and senseless attack that was made all the more lethal by the weapons he used. Banning the sale and possession of these devices is the right thing to do."

Christie also signed legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats Daniel Benson and Valerie Vainieri Huttle to revise and strengthen New Jersey law on animal cruelty amid SPCA concerns.



The new law (S-3558/A-5231) was introduced in response to a report released by the State Commission of Investigation on organizational mismanagement at the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The law revises the way in which animal cruelty law is enforced in the state by transferring the power of humane law enforcement from the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) to the county prosecutor in each county, and requiring the designation of a municipal humane law enforcement officer in each municipality with an existing police department. "New Jersey cannot continue to rely on an outdated law and state level organization that has failed to protect animals and their owners from harm," said Benson, D-Mercer, Middlesex. "This law will ensure that protection of animals is harmonized with our local and county law enforcement and that animal cruelty is investigated and prosecuted with accountability and transparency."