Requires information be provided regarding types of US Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices under certain circumstances.*

S601 1R

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 601

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator JAMES BEACH

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

Senator� PAUL D. MORIARTY

District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators O'Scanlon, Henry, Cruz-Perez, McKnight,
Greenstein, Diegnan and Amato

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires information be provided regarding types of US
Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices under certain circumstances.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Senate Law and Public Safety
Committee on February 19, 2026, with amendments.

��

An Act

concerning personal flotation devices,
1
[
designated as
�Dylan�s Law,�
]
1

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.