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With racial tensions still reverberating nationally in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody, the New Jersey Assembly doubled down on criminal justice reform by passing several bills that, among other things, push for more diversified and community-sensitive police departments, expand jury pools, and decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Of 20 bills approved Thursday during a 90-minute teleconference vote—all by huge majorities or unanimously—eight have to do with changing how law enforcement agencies conduct business.

Before voting, a few Assembly lawmakers cited "8 minutes 46 seconds" as the reason for voting "yes." That was the amount of time that Floyd, who was black, was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white. Floyd, who died, complained of not being able to breathe but was ignored by Chauvin and other officers. Chauvin is facing murder and manslaughter charges over Floyd's death. Video of the incident spurred protests for racial justice for weeks in several major U.S. cities—some peaceful, others not.

The measures approved by the 80-member Assembly were:

• A-744, which would require law enforcement agencies to provide internal affairs and personnel files of law enforcement officers to other agencies under certain circumstances (passed 78-0);

• A-1076, which would require the state Attorney General's Office to collect, record, analyze, and report certain prosecutorial and criminal justice data (passed 78-0);

• A-1906, which would include false incrimination and filing a false police report as forms of bias intimidation, and establish that a false 911 call with the purpose to intimidate or harass based on race or other protected class is a crime (78-0, with two abstentions);

• A-2394 (S-401), which would require law enforcement agencies in the state to establish minority recruitment and selection programs, and establish a reporting requirement (70-3, with five abstentions);

• A-3641, which would require the Department of Law and Public Safety to incorporate implicit bias in cultural diversity training and training materials for law enforcement officers, and make cultural diversity and implicit bias training for law officers mandatory (77-0-1);

• A-4263 (S-2562), which would clarify that any law enforcement officer who knowingly chokes another person engages in the use of deadly force (72-1-5); and

• A-4275, which would expand the category of lists from which the single juror source list is compiled to include persons who are utility customers, have nondriver identification cards, or have applied for or received various types of assistance (76-1).

Perhaps the measure that speaks most directly to the disproportionately high arrest and incarceration rates of African Americans for minor marijuana and hashish offenses is A-1897. Sponsored by Assembly members Benjie Wimberly, D-Passaic, Annette Quijano, D-Union, Jamel Holley, D-Union, Shanique Speight, D-Essex, Angela McKnight, D-Hudson, and Britnee Timberlake, D-Essex, it passed 63-10 with five abstentions. It was approved by the Assembly Community Development and Affairs Committee by a 4-0 vote, with two abstentions on Monday.

The measure, which evolved as a hybrid of A-1897 and A-4269, proposes to replace criminal penalties for possession of marijuana of up to two ounces with a fine, and streamline the process for expungements.

Currently, possessing one ounce to five pounds of marijuana can result in three to five years in prison and fines of up to $25,000. Distributing less than one ounce can result in up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

While the massive marijuana legalization legislation with an expungement provision stalled in the Senate last year, legislative leaders agreed to have it as a constitutional referendum on this November's ballot.

Some say A-1897 picks up where the failed marijuana bill left off in the Legislature.

"There has been legislative support for decriminalization," said John Fanburg of Roseland-based Brach Eichler, who's closely following the new bill. Fanburg is co-chairman of the cannabis practice and managing partner.

"The effort to establish an adult regulated market [for marijuana] failed, and now that's set for the November election," said Fanburg, who also chairs the firm's health law practice. "There is the recognition that the arrests for cannabis use are disproportionately aimed at minorities in this state and elsewhere. The ACLU statistics are … frightening and staggering."

According to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, marijuana arrests have increased. The association said an analysis of state data showed that in 2017, New Jersey made 37,623 arrests for marijuana possession and distribution charges, increasing nearly 35% from the 27,923 arrests made in 2013 for the same offenses.

In 2017, New Jersey averaged about 95 marijuana possession arrests per day, amounting to one arrest every 15 minutes. In 2013, New Jersey averaged 66 possession arrests statewide per day, or one arrest approximately every 21 minutes, according to the ACLU-NJ.

"In an effort to move more slowly in the direction citizens want to move, it's basically saying, 'Let's eliminate this unfair practice of arresting a disproportionate number of minorities in the state,'" Fanburg said.

"The Assembly agrees with that notion based on the votes today," said Fanburg. "The problem is that we just can't stop there. … Part of the initiative of key legislation is not only to fix the criminality aspect of it and expunge records, but more importantly, to eliminate this illegal market by making the market legal."

Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and its New Jersey affiliate, New Jersey Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy (NJ-RAMP), and a former White House drug policy adviser, lauded A-1897's passage.

"This bill begins the process of addressing true social justice reform in a way not possible through marijuana commercialization," Sabet said in a statement. "It is a good start on the road to accomplishing real reform in New Jersey."

He added, referring to efforts to legalize recreational adult use of the drug, "Unfortunately, the Legislature has seemed to only be interested in putting the interests of pot profiteers and big business ahead of tangible reforms."

Sabet said he hoped lawmakers would incorporate provisions from Sen. Ronald Rice's, D-Essex, original decriminalization bill that would decriminalize minor possession while encouraging those with substance abuse issues to seek help.

Fanburg hopes lawmakers will eliminate the illegal black market for marijuana via legalization.

"This is a good step, but … we still need to establish an adult regulated market where adults can buy it in a quality control situation to get away from lining the pockets of criminals," said Fanburg. "We need to eliminate or significantly diminish the black market by creating a legal market that pays taxes and employs people.

"We can't ignore the times we currently live in and the voices [of] the Black Lives Matter movement. Those voices are saying, 'Enough is enough,'" said Fanburg. "It's easy to point to marijuana arrests as Exhibit A on how detrimental the unfairness of enforcement can be."

On Friday, state Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-Mercer, Chair of the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee, announced the formation of a committee to address police reform across New Jersey.

Greenstein said the committee plans to hold a series of hearings to review among other things, updating the state's use-of-force policy, creating a statewide professional licensure program for police; and enhancing police training.