The revision comes weeks after an NJ Advance Media report highlighting federal 1033 program Watch video
State officials are rewriting the guidelines given to local law enforcement agencies on how to request military hand-me-downs, according to a letter from the state Attorney General's Office.
The changes would address concerns raised by two state legislators about transparency in acquiring the equipment, according to the letter from Assistant Attorney General B. Stephan Finkel obtained by NJ Advance Media.
The letter is addressed to Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex) and Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen) and says state Attorney General Christopher Porrino agrees with the legislators that local governments should approve a resolution in a public meeting before acquiring the military gear.
"Accordingly, Attorney General Porrino has directed that the state Plan of Operation be revised to reflect this requirement, which law enforcement agencies that wish to continue participation in the LESO program will be required to complete and re-submit," the letter says, referencing the 1033 Law Enforcement Support Office program.
Gill and Johnson wrote the attorney general in the days after a report was published by NJ.com and The Star Ledger on the military equipment being acquired by local agencies throughout the state.
The lawmakers said they were "alarmed" by the current military surplus request process and requested the details of the guidance given to local agencies on the program.
Details of the revisions could not be confirmed by the Attorney General's office. A spokesman for the office said he could not comment on the changes detailed in the letter.
See what your local law enforcement has received from the military surplus program. Look through our searchable database.
Currently, local governing bodies are allowed to pass a resolution up to 30 days after the law enforcement agency receives any high-profile item, which includes the heavily-armored vehicles known as MRAPs, according to state officials.
The majority of the acquisition process over the last two years has been behind closed doors between local elected officials and State Police, which oversee the distribution of items.
"I was very concerned to learn about violations of the law that I sponsored setting forth specific requirements for participating in the 1033 program and for acquiring equipment," Gill told NJ Advance Media. "I want to thank the Attorney General for acknowledging the deficiencies in the guidance provided to localities and for committing to establish new guidelines for the program in New Jersey."
The federal 1033 program was started in the mid-1990s as a way to repurpose excess and out-of-date gear from the armed forces. It came under fire in the wake of images of the protests in 2014 in Ferguson, Mo. showing a local city police response that resembled a small army.
N.J. cops' 2-year military surplus haul: $40M in gear, 13 MRAPs
In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation the following year aimed at informing residents of what gear their local police departments were receiving through resolutions: one to enroll in the program and another each time an agency makes a request for gear.
However, the initial resolutions approving many of the local agencies' enrollment in the 1033 program often contained language to cover the smaller ticket items without additional approval, relying on local elected officials to okay the order without input from the public, State Police Lt. Robert Aponte, the state's 1033 program coordinator, told NJ Advance Media previously.
Only the high-profile items -- such as mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, or MRAPs -- are required to be approved in a resolution by the local governing body, according to Aponte.
It is unclear if the current state guidelines are consistent with the federal guidance sent out to state officials nationwide in October 2015 under former President Obama's executive order. It requires evidence of local government knowledge and approval before equipment can be shipped.
The state attorney general's office did not respond to a request for comment on the federal guidelines.
Of the 12 municipalities that received an MRAP over the last year, only one passed a resolution before placing the order for the military vehicle designed to protect soldiers in Iraq from explosives, according to a review of the municipal agendas by NJ Advance Media.
"The taxpayers have a right to know the type of surplus military equipment their local police force is receiving and to have a voice in the process," Gill said. "The legislation that was passed and signed allowed for this and we will continue to monitor the process to ensure the new guidelines are consistent with the law."
Howell Police Chief Andrew Kudrick, whose department received the most valuable MRAP in the state last year worth $865,000, says he thinks the program has been a boon for local departments, allowing the agencies to acquire gear at nearly no cost to the taxpayer.
Kudrick, who invited reporters to see the acquired gear, said it would be "irresponsible" for him as chief to not acquire equipment that leaves his department only on the hook for shipping and upkeep on the acquired gear.
But Kudrick said he believes that transparency is key to maintaining the trust between the local community and police, specifically due to the national discourse on the militarization of local law enforcement.
The acquisition of MRAPs became controversial in New Jersey shortly after the demonstrations in Ferguson and details about the military program emerged in 2014. The Bergen County Sheriff's Office that December withdrew its request for the 13-ton truck, which would have been the third in the state, saying "it was no longer worth the effort."
Three years later, 16 local law enforcement agencies have an MRAP parked at their headquarters.
Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
