The law banning smoking on New Jersey's beaches carries hefty fines: $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 each time after that.
State lawmakers handed visitors to the Jersey Shore a welcome-to-summer gift on Thursday: a bill designed to give them a cleaner, safer beach experience.
Both houses of the Legislature approved the measure, which would prohibit smoking at any state park or forest, county or municipal park, or state or municipal beach.
Failure to comply carries a hefty fine: $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second and a whopping $1,000 each time if you're dumb enough to light up yet again after that.
The bill, which now lands on the governor's desk, is more than a nod to aesthetics - although not having to deal with the disgusting detritus of smokers' discarded butts and matches is certainly incentive enough.
Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer), a sponsor of the bill, points out that keeping our public spaces tobacco-free has long-reaching health benefits as well.
Get your butts the hell off the beach! | Moran
"Second-hand smoke not only has serious health implications, but cigarette butts that litter parks and beaches are hazardous and unsightly," the senator said.
In other words, your right to puff away ends where my right to breathe begins.
For all the smokers who gripe about the infringement on their rights, there are public officials who say banning the butt, as some municipalities have already done on their own, has been good for the tourism industry.
Matt Doherty, mayor of Belmar, told a New Jersey radio station this week that after his Monmouth County borough instituted its law in the spring of 2014, merchants along the beach noticed an uptick in business.
LBI town bans smoking on the beach
"Last year, when the ban was in full effect and people really knew about it, we had more people come to Belmar ... than any other summer in our history," Doherty said, adding that the prohibition helps officials market the local beach as more family-friendly and healthy.
As a courtesy to those whose addiction runs deep, the bill exempts golf courses, and also allows a county or municipality to set aside up to 15 percent of a beach area for smokers.
The legislation is still far from a done deal. Gov. Chris Christie has expressed his doubts, and is on record as vetoing a similar bill in 2014 because he believes such bans should be left to the discretion of local officials.
Indeed, more than a dozen municipalities have already gone that route on their own volition. But the new bill would expand the benefits of smoke-free beaches and parks to the entire state. We urge the governor to reconsider his objections and sign the bill.
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