'Beaches into ashtrays': After conditional veto, smoking still OK on most NJ beaches

Publication Date: 2016-08-06

• Author:Erin Serpico
• Publication:Philly.com

After New Jersey lawmakers approved a bill that would ban smoking in all public parks and beaches in the state, Gov. Christie last month issued a conditional veto and instead offered to support a smoking ban solely on state-owned parks and beaches. The legislature must act on that proposal...

"I abhor smoking," Christie wrote in the veto. "But I continue to believe that the state should not impose its will upon our local governments, and instead continue to leave it up to towns and counties whether to ban smoking in their parks and beaches."

In 2014, Christie vetoed a similar bill that aimed to ban smoking on all public parks and beaches. This time, he offered changes to the bill instead of shutting it down completely, and mentioned that several local governments have imposed their own smoking bans.

Several New Jersey beaches have taken that matter into their own hands, as the veto language suggests. According to the America Nonsmoker's Rights Foundation, 15 beaches in New Jersey have implemented smoke-free beach laws...