Prohibits DEP from limiting number of mobile sport fishing permits issued annually; requires valid registration with New Jersey Saltwater Recreational Registry Program.

A4940

ASSEMBLY, No. 4940

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Fantasia and Assemblyman McGuckin

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.