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A4658
ASSEMBLY, No. 4658
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires information be provided regarding types of
US Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning personal flotation devices, amending P.L.1962, c.73 and
P.L.1987, c.453, and supplementing Title 12 of the
Revised Statutes.
����
Be It Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New
Jersey:
����
1.��� Section
4 of P.L.1962, c.73 (C.12:7-34.39) is amended to read as follows:
���� 4.��� (a)� The owner of a
vessel required to be numbered in this State shall file an application with the
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission on forms approved by it.�
The
application shall include information regarding the types of United States
Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices, including when each type is
required pursuant to applicable State and federal laws, rules, and regulations,
and when the use of a particular type is recommended.� The applicant shall
acknowledge that the applicant has read the information by signing, initialing,
or checking a box on the application, or by providing written or electronic
confirmation of receipt of the information.� The Chief Administrator of the New
Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall consult with the Superintendent of State
Police and the
National Association of
State Boating Law Administrators, or its successor organization, regarding the
information to be included on the application.
���� The application shall be
signed by the owner and shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed by this act
for
[
such
]
the
vessel. Upon receipt of the application in the approved form and the prescribed
fee, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall enter the same upon the
records of its office and issue to the applicant a pocket-size, laminated or
otherwise water resistant certificate of number, which shall state the name and
address of the owner, a description of the vessel, its use, and the number
assigned.
���� (b)�� Except as provided
herein, the certificate of number shall be available at all times for
inspection on the vessel for which issued whenever
[
such
]
the
vessel is in
operation.� The certificate of number for vessels less than 26 feet in length
and leased or rented to another for the latter's noncommercial use of less than
24 hours may be retained on shore by the vessel's owner or
[
his
]
a
representative at the place from which the vessel departs or returns to the
possession of the owner or
[
his
]
the
representative; provided
[
such
]
any
substitute as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission may prescribe by
regulation is carried on board.
���� (c)�� The number assigned to a
vessel shall be displayed on each side of the
vessel�s
bow
[
thereof
]
, as
prescribed by regulations of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, using
letters and numerals not less than three inches in height; except that this
provision shall not apply to a one-design class racing sailboat, without power
installed either inboard or outboard, which is required to be numbered under
section 3 of P.L.1962, c.73 (C.12:7-34.38).� No other number shall be displayed
on the bow.
���� (d)��
[
No
]
An
application for a vessel number shall
not
be approved if the applicant
or owner has been found to have violated section 3 of P.L.1975, c.369
(C.12:7C-9) or subsection b. of section 10 of P.L.1975, c.369 (C.12:7C-16),
until the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission has been notified by the appropriate
municipality or harbor commission that all outstanding charges for vessel
removal, storage, and destruction costs have been satisfied.
(cf: P.L.2008, c.52, s.1)
���� 2.��� Section
1 of P.L.1987, c.453 (C.12:7-60) is amended to read as follows:
���� 1.��� a.�
The Superintendent of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety
shall establish a list of approved boat safety courses, offered by public or
private persons or agencies for profit or otherwise and taught by approved boat
safety instructors.� Approved courses shall provide formal instruction in power
vessel handling and safety.� The superintendent may approve a boat safety
course upon the initiative of the superintendent or by application on a form to
be created by the superintendent.
���� For
the purposes of this section, "approved boat safety course" means a
boat safety course that meets qualifications set forth in regulations
promulgated by the Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the
Attorney General; the regulations shall require at least eight hours of
instruction, with a minimum of six hours of classroom instruction, or, if the
boat safety course is offered via the Internet, require at least the equivalent
of eight hours of instruction; whether offered in a classroom or via the
Internet, the boat safety course shall conclude with a closed-book written
examination administered by an instructor in person and present with the person
taking the written examination.�
Additionally, the regulations shall require
that the boat safety course include comprehensive instruction on the types of
United States Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices, including when
each type is required pursuant to applicable State and federal laws, rules, and
regulations, and when the use of a particular type is recommended.�
���� For
the purposes of this section, an �approved boat safety instructor� means an
individual who is trained and experienced in the art and science of navigation
and seamanship and who holds a United States Coast Guard operator's license, or
a certification as an instructor as provided by the United States Coast Guard
Auxiliary, the United States Power Squadron, the National Safe Boating Council
or other certification program that is determined to be acceptable by the
Superintendent of State Police.� A public or private entity which offers a
course that was approved by the superintendent prior to the effective date of
this act may continue to offer that course until that approval has expired.
���� The
superintendent shall, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act,"
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations to implement
this section.� While developing these rules and regulations, the Superintendent
of State Police shall consult with the National Association of State Boating
Law Administrators, or its successor organization, concerning the provisions of
the rules and regulations being adopted pursuant to this subsection.
���� b.��� A
public or private entity authorized to offer a boat safety course pursuant to
subsection a. of this section shall not employ an instructor who:
���� (1)�� does
not possess a valid boat safety certificate required by section 2 of P.L.1987,
c.453 (C.12:7-61); or
���� (2)�� has
been convicted of any of the following crimes and offenses as evidenced by a
criminal history record background check:
���� (a)�� In
New Jersey, any crime or disorderly persons offense:
���� (i)��� involving
danger to the person, meaning those crimes and disorderly persons offenses set
forth in N.J.S.2C:11-1 et seq., N.J.S.2C:12-1 et seq., N.J.S.2C:13-1 et seq.,
N.J.S.2C:14-1 et seq. or N.J.S.2C:15-1 et seq.;
���� (ii)�� against
the family, children or incompetents, meaning those crimes and disorderly
persons offenses set forth in N.J.S.2C:24-1 et seq.;
���� (iii)� involving
theft as set forth in chapter 20 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes;
���� (iv)� involving
any controlled dangerous substance or controlled substance analog as set forth
in chapter 35 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes except paragraph (4) of
subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:35-10;
���� (v)�� involving
weapons or firearms, meaning those crimes and disorderly persons offenses set
forth in chapters 39 and 58 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes;
���� (vi)� involving
falsification of records under N.J.S.2C:21-4 or tampering with public records
or information under N.J.S.2C:28-7.
���� (b)�� In
any other state or jurisdiction, conduct which, if committed in New Jersey,
would constitute any of the crimes or disorderly persons offenses described in
subparagraph a. of this paragraph.
���� The
Marine Services Bureau in the Division of State Police shall obtain the
instructor's name, address, fingerprints and written consent for a criminal
history record background check to be performed pursuant to this paragraph.�
The Marine Services Bureau is authorized to receive criminal history record
information from the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State
Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation consistent with applicable State
and federal laws, rules and regulations.� The Marine Services Bureau shall
determine whether the person is disqualified from employment as an instructor
based on the person's criminal history record background check and render the
decision to the public or private entity.
���� The
instructor shall bear the cost for the criminal history record background
check, including all costs of administering and processing the check, but a
volunteer instructor shall be afforded a fee reduction as authorized by
applicable State and federal law, rule and regulation.
(cf:
P.L.2005, c.292, s.5)
���� 3.
��� (New
section) a. Any person engaged in the business of selling or renting personal
watercraft for use on the waters of this State shall provide each purchaser or
renter, at the point of sale or rental, with informational materials, prepared
by the Superintendent of State Police pursuant to subsection c. of this
section, regarding the types of United States Coast Guard approved personal
flotation devices.� The information shall include when each type is required
pursuant to applicable State and federal laws, rules, and regulations, and when
the use of a particular type is recommended.�
���� b.��� Any
person who purchases or rents a personal watercraft shall, at the time of the
transaction, acknowledge that the person has read the information by signing,
initialing, or checking a box on the purchase or rental agreement, or by
providing written or electronic confirmation of receipt of the information.
���� c.���� The
Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the National Association
of State Boating Law Administrators, or its successor organization, shall
prepare informational materials containing the information required pursuant to
subsection a. of this section.� The informational materials shall be made
available on the Division of State Police Internet website.
���� 4.��� (New
section) Any person engaged in the business of selling or renting a personal
watercraft shall make available to each purchaser or renter the option to
purchase or rent a United States Coast Guard approved Type I personal flotation
device, regardless of whether other types of personal flotation devices are
also available or offered as part of the sale or rental.
���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of
enactment, except that the Superintendent of State Police and the Chief
Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission may take any anticipatory
administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation
of this act.
STATEMENT
����� This bill requires information to be provided
regarding the types of United States Coast Guard approved personal flotation
devices, commonly known as life jackets, under certain circumstances.
����� Under current law, owners of vessels, including
personal watercraft such as jet skis, are required to register their vessels
through an application provided by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.�
The bill requires that the registration application include information
regarding the types of United States Coast Guard approved personal flotation
devices, including when each type is required pursuant to applicable State and
federal laws, rules, and regulations, and when the use of a particular type is
recommended.�
����� Additionally, the bill requires that the applicant
acknowledge that he or she has read the information by signing, initialing, or
checking a box on the application, or by providing written or electronic
confirmation of receipt of the information.� The Chief Administrator of the
Motor Vehicle Commission is required to consult with the Superintendent of
State Police and the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators,
or its successor organization, regarding the information to be included on the
application.
����� Further, under current law, all operators of power
vessels and personal watercraft on New Jersey waters are required to complete a
boating safety course approved by the Superintendent of State Police.� The bill
requires approved boating safety courses to include comprehensive instruction
on the types of United States Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices,
including when each type is required pursuant to applicable State and federal
laws, rules, and regulations, and when the use of a particular type is
recommended.�
����� In addition, under the bill, any person engaged in
the business of selling or renting personal watercraft for use on the waters of
this State is required to provide each purchaser or renter, at the point of
sale or rental, with informational materials prepared by the Superintendent of
State Police regarding the types of United States Coast Guard approved personal
flotation devices, including when each type is required pursuant to applicable
State and federal laws, rules, and regulations, and when the use of a
particular type is recommended.�
����� The bill provides that any person who purchases or
rents a personal watercraft is required, at the time of the transaction, to
acknowledge that he or she has read the information by signing, initialing, or
checking a box on the purchase or rental agreement, or by providing written or
electronic confirmation of receipt of the information.�
����� Finally, under the provisions of the bill, any person
engaged in the business of selling or renting a personal watercraft is required
to make available to each purchaser or renter the option to purchase or rent a
United States Coast Guard approved Type I personal flotation device, regardless
of whether other types of personal flotation devices are also available or
offered as part of the sale or rental.
����� The United States Coast Guard classifies personal
flotation devices, commonly known as life jackets, into five types, each
offering varying levels of buoyancy. Type I life jackets provide the highest
level of buoyancy and are specifically designed to turn an unconscious person
face-up and keep them in a safe, upright position in the water. On July 27,
2025, Dylan Geller tragically lost his life after suffering a seizure while in
the water, despite being properly licensed to operate a personal watercraft and
wearing a Type III life jacket purchased from a reputable source. The purpose
of the bill is to ensure that all individuals operating a personal watercraft
are properly informed about the differences between life jacket types and the
critical role these distinctions play in protecting those engaged in water
activities. It is also the intent of the sponsor to designate this bill as
�Dylan�s Law.�