Littoral Society Urges Support for Three Bills Facing Votes in New Jersey State Legislature

Three bills supported by the American Littoral Society may see votes in the NJ state legislature on Monday, March 25. They are:

• Protection of Beach Access A4221/S1074
• Banning shark finning A.4845/S.2905
• Open Space Funding S2920

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The Littoral Society asks members and supporters to contact their legislators and urge them to vote yes on these bills.

A4221/S1074 and A4845/S2905 were approved by the General Assembly Appropriations Committee on Monday, March 18 and will be up for a vote by the full Assembly next week.

S2920 was unanimously approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations committee with amendments on March 18 and will be up for a vote by the Senate on March 25.

A4221/S1074 would codify state obligations to strengthen efforts to ensure that the public has meaningful access to, and use of, the shoreline, tidal waters and other areas subject to the Public Trust Doctrine. The bills will provide authority to address chronic problems limiting public access to tidal waters throughout New Jersey and provide needed policy direction to the Department of Environmental Protection to administer the regulations.

A4845/S2905 would ban the sale and trade of certain shark fins, which will reduce the chance that foreign shark fins end up in our state. While shark finning itself is banned by federal law, the states must ban the sale and possession of these fins to further protect sharks, which are a vital component of our ocean ecosystem.

S2920 establishes the funding levels for the constitutional dedication of Corporation Business Tax revenues for fiscal year 2020 and beyond for the State’s open space, farmland, and historic preservation programs. In addition, the bill would appropriate $500,000 from the “Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund” for the purpose of establishing an electronic database to track projects that receive funding for historic preservation purposes.

The American Littoral Society supports these bill and asks you to contact your state legislators to urge them to support their passage. Click here to find your state legislator and their contact information.