New Jersey Law Lets Candidates Spend Campaign Funds on Security With No Dollar Cap After Limits Were Cut

Candidates and officeholders in New Jersey can now use campaign contributions to pay for their personal security under a law Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed Tuesday, one week before Election Day. Before the bill passed, lawmakers removed two limits that were in the original version, according to the bill's amended text reviewed by The Digital Free Press.

The measure, S-3386/A-5258, "authorizes use of campaign funds for security expenses of candidate, officeholder, staff, and certain family members," according to the governor's office, which listed it among three bills Sherrill signed. The law takes effect immediately, according to the bill text.

Two Limits Removed

As introduced on Feb. 9, 2026, the bill said spending on physical security equipment "shall not exceed $10,000 per candidacy." Senate committee amendments reported May 21 deleted that cap, according to the bill's legislative history. The latest version posted by the Legislature sets no dollar limit on security spending.

The original bill also allowed structural security work, such as wiring, lighting, gates, doors and fencing, only if it was intended to provide security "and not to improve the property or increase its value." Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee amendments on June 24 struck that phrase. The current text still requires that structural devices be "intended solely to provide security."

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) and Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak (D-Middlesex), with Sen. Carmen Amato (R-Ocean) as a co-sponsor. New Jersey Monitor reported that it was introduced after political violence in 2025 that included the assassinations of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

What Campaign Funds Can Now Buy

Under the law, candidate committees, joint candidates committees and legislative leadership committees may pay "the reasonable costs of security measures" for a candidate or officeholder, family members who live in the same household, and staff. The spending must address "ongoing dangers or threats that would not otherwise exist" if the person were not a candidate or officeholder.

Allowed spending, priced at fair market value, falls into four categories: security hardware such as locks, alarms, motion detectors and camera systems; structural items; professional security personnel and services that comply with the state's Security Officer Registration Act; and cybersecurity software, devices and services.

Limits, Records and the Vote

The law bars using campaign money for firearms or ammunition, for payments to family members or businesses they own or run, and for home improvements the law does not expressly allow.

Committees must keep receipts, invoices and contracts for the spending, and those records are public. Plans or designs that would reveal the type or location of security measures stay confidential. Equipment and ongoing services bought with campaign money are treated as campaign assets and must be "appropriately dissolved" when the campaign closes or the officeholder leaves office. Devices "may be sold for cost or other reasonable value." The state Election Law Enforcement Commission will write rules to carry out the law.

The Senate passed the bill unanimously, while the Assembly approved it 51-12 in a vote divided largely along party lines, according to New Jersey Monitor. The outlet reported that some Republicans in the Assembly argued campaign donors were the wrong source to pay for security.

Sources: Office of the Governor, "Governor Sherrill Signs Legislation" (Oct. 27, 2026): https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/2026/20261027b.shtml ; S-3386 (Second Reprint) bill text: https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2026/S3500/3386_R2.HTM ; New Jersey Monitor: https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/10/27/governor-bill-security-spending-campaign-funds/