New Jersey Is Drawing A Line In The Sand For Surfers And Beach Badges
Well, it looks like New Jersey and some lawmakers, are introducing a bill that ‘beach badges’ are not needed for surfers or fishermen to get to the water.
If you don’t know already back on August 21st, a surfer named Liam Mahoney, 28, was approached and arrested by Belmar Police for not producing a beach badge and there was some conflict and an altercation with a video that spread all over the web and country.
Belmar Police Chief, Tina Scott, of the Belmar PD released a statement on August 22 stating, “To be clear, Mr. Mahoney was not arrested for not having a beach badge. He was arrested because he obstructed the officer’s investigation by refusing to give his identification or other information Mr. Mahoney was also advised he was not free to leave and continue to walk away during this encounter.” Here is the video if you missed it.
What Will This Bill Say About The Beach Badges For Surfers And Fisherman
The bill was brought up by assemblywoman Margie Donlon, a Democrat from Monmouth County. According to the text of the legislation, entitled Bill A4816, it “would prohibit a municipality from requiring a municipal beach tag or similar admission pass for access to the wet sandy beach below the mean high tide line, for a surfer or a fisherman for the exclusive purpose of surfing or fishing.”
Many of New Jersey surfers that I even know around here would be quick to shout out that beach tags are already not needed for surfing. Donlon said that, based on a law approved by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2019, a beach user does not need a pass if they are crossing the sand to enter the ocean. “It’s been a long conversation in these surfing and fishing communities,” according to Donlon. “This is not something that’s necessarily new.” She also said “The motivation of the bill was to make the existing law clearer.”
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