AJR 59 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Designates May 15 of each year as "Water Safety Day" in New Jersey.

AJR 59 designates May 15 of each year as "Water Safety Day" in New Jersey to raise public awareness about safe water practices and drowning prevention. The bill requests the Governor issue an annual proclamation encouraging state officials and residents to observe the day with activities promoting water safety. It does not create new laws, funding, or requirements, but serves as a ceremonial recognition of the importance of water safety education. This aligns with National and International Water Safety Day observed on the same date.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Jun 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill → Introduced · 2 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MINOR

The bill transitioned from a technical review stage to its introduced version. The primary change is the addition of a STATEMENT section providing background justification for declaring May 15 as Water Safety Day in New Jersey, including drowning statistics, racial disparities in swimming ability, and references to similar designations in other states.

SCOPE

A new STATEMENT section was added explaining the purpose of the resolution: to raise public awareness of water safety best practices. It includes statistics on drowning as a leading cause of death for children ages 5-14, notes that 45% of Hispanic children and 64% of African-American children lack swimming ability, and cites similar designations in Tennessee, Georgia, and Washington.

TECHNICAL

The bill status changed from 'As reported by the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee with technical review' to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel,' reflecting a procedural stage change rather than a policy change.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee

lower

2 primary · 1 co-sponsor