Bill Text: NJ A4940 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits DEP from limiting number of mobile sport fishing permits issued annually; requires valid registration with New Jersey Saltwater Recreational Registry Program.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 3)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-07 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee [A4940 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A4940-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits DEP from limiting number of mobile sport fishing permits issued annually; requires valid registration with New Jersey Saltwater Recreational Registry Program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the sale of mobile sport fishing permits and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
"Mobile sport fishing permit" means a permit of any type, class, or duration which is made available by the department to allow for the operation of a motor vehicle on a beach for the purpose of fishing, including annual, 3-day, weekday, and daily mobile sport fishing permits.
b. The department shall:
(1) begin to sell mobile sport fishing permits commencing on December 15 of each calendar year;
(2) not limit the number of mobile sport fishing permits issued in a calendar year; and
(3) process applications in the order in which they are received.
c. Commencing on December 15, 2027, and continuing each calendar year thereafter, the department shall not approve an application for a mobile sport fishing permit unless the applicant has demonstrated proof to the department of a valid registration with the New Jersey Saltwater Recreational Registry Program in the form of a valid New Jersey Conservation Identification Number.
d. Commencing on December 15, 2027, and continuing each calendar year thereafter, the department shall allow a person who holds a valid weekday mobile sport fishing permit to convert the permit into an annual mobile sport fishing permit upon paying the difference in cost.
e. The department shall dedicate no less than 10 percent of the proceeds of the sale of mobile sport fishing permits each calendar year to the maintenance of Island Beach State Park.
f. The department shall, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
2. This act shall take effect six months after the date of enactment, except that the Department of Environmental Protection may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as may be necessary for the implementation of this act
STATEMENT
This bill would prohibit the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from limiting the number of mobile sport fishing permits issued in a calendar year. Prohibiting the DEP from limiting the number of mobile sport fishing permits issued in a calendar year would prevent applicants who apply for a permit later in the year from being automatically denied a permit. As a result, this would remove the incentive from those who currently hold multiple mobile sport fishing permits to sell falsified permits through the black market.
History has shown that an unlimited sale of mobile sport fishing permits will not result in an excessive number of vehicles on the beach at any given time. The beach at Island Beach State Park has closed only twice in recent years to additional vehicles, and those occasions were on Independence Day and Memorial Day, and the closure only lasted a few hours each.
This bill would also require the DEP to process applications for mobile sport fishing permits in the order in which they are received, and to begin selling mobile sport fishing permits on December 15 of each calendar year. Additionally, the bill would require mobile sport fishing permit applicants to provide proof of a valid registration with the New Jersey Saltwater Recreational Registry Program in the form of a valid New Jersey Conservation Identification Number in order for the DEP to approve a mobile sport fishing permit.
Furthermore, this bill would require the department to allow a person who holds a valid weekday mobile sport fishing permit to convert the permit into an annual mobile sport fishing permit upon paying the difference in cost. This bill would require the department to dedicate no less than 10 percent of the proceeds of the sale of mobile sport fishing permits each calendar year towards the maintenance of Island Beach State Park.
Finally, the bill would authorize the DEP to adopt rules and regulations to implement the bill's provisions. The bill would take effect six months after enactment.
