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A1881
ASSEMBLY, No. 1881
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER
District 28 (Essex and Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires reflective material on children's Halloween
costumes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning children�s safety and supplementing
Title 56 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
act:
���� �Child� means a person less
than 18 years of age.
���� �Halloween costume� means a
costume, garment, article of clothing, or fashion of dress appropriate to,
marketed for, or intended for use on Halloween.
���� �Reflective material� means
reflective tape, fabric, decorative patches or other material that is highly
visible in low light.
���� b.��� (1)� A person shall not
sell or offer for sale a Halloween costume intended for use by a child that
does not have reflective material attached to, or packaged and sold with, the
costume.
���� (2)�� A person in violation of
paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be subject to a penalty of not more than
$500 for the first offense and not more than $1,000 for each subsequent
offense, to be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the �Penalty
Enforcement Law of 1999,� P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and apply to children�s Halloween costumers sold on or after
November 15 next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires children�s
Halloween costumes sold at retail to have reflective material that is 1)
attached to the costume, or 2) packaged with the costume to be subsequently
attached by the buyer. Reflective material increases visibility in unsafe
situations and helps to reduce the risk of consequential accidents due to low
visibility or darkness.�
���� A person who sells a child�s
Halloween costume without reflective material would pay a penalty of not more
than $500 for the first offense and not more than $1,000 for each subsequent
offense.�
���� The United States Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges consumers to purchase or make costumes
that are brightly colored and clearly visible to motorists.� Consumers should
decorate or trim costumes and treat bags with reflective tape that glows in the
beam of a car�s headlights. The commission also recommends that bags or sacks
be brightly colored or decorated with reflective tape.
���� According to the CPSC,
hundreds of Halloween-related injuries are reported each year. Incidents
involve burns, lacerations from pumpkin-carving, falls related to ill-fitting
costumes, and injuries from collisions due to impaired vision. �Requiring
reflective material on costumes marketed to and used by children improves the
safety of trick-or-treaters and drivers on Halloween night.