S 1533 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Permits municipalities to charge reduced or no beach fee for children ages 12 to 17; revises law concerning beach fees for veterans.

S 1533 allows New Jersey municipalities to charge reduced or no beach fees for children aged 12 to 17, expanding the existing exemption for children under 12. It also updates veteran fee exemptions to require municipalities to track the number of veterans using the exemption and clarify eligibility for veterans with service-connected disabilities. The bill amends existing law governing beach access fees in coastal municipalities, which typically charge for public beach use and recreational facilities. This change applies to all municipalities owning or managing beaches and takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

General Assembly Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 24, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill → Introduced · 3 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MINOR

The bill was introduced with a new statement section clarifying its purpose: to allow municipalities to offer free or reduced beach fees to children ages 12-17 and to all honorably discharged veterans. The key substantive change is the removal of prior restrictions that limited veteran beach fee exemptions to those who served at least 90 days on active duty or were discharged due to a service-connected injury or disability.

Scope change

The scope of veteran beach fee benefits is broadened from a subset of veterans (those meeting a 90-day active duty threshold or having a service-connected disability) to all honorably discharged veterans without those conditions.

ELIGIBILITY

Veteran beach fee exemption and reduced fee eligibility is expanded from veterans who served at least 90 days in active duty or had a service-connected disability to all honorably discharged veterans regardless of length of service or disability status.

Language limiting the veteran exemption and reduced fee to those who served at least 90 days in active duty or were discharged due to a service-incurred injury or disability is deleted.

SCOPE

A new statement section was added clarifying that municipalities may, by ordinance, charge no fee or a reduced beach fee to children between ages 12 and 17.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by the Senate (38-0)

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee

upper

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors