The New Jersey legislature has a pair of smoking ban related bills on the docket for the 2014-15 session, one to ban smoking at state owned beaches and the other to allow municipalities to establish fines for smoking in public places. Senate Bill 1249 and its companion Assembly Bill 418, seek to ban smoking at state-owned beaches and carries a fine of not less than $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense. It was first introduced during the 2008-2009 session and has been reintroduced every session since. It has been referred to the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee following each introduction but has yet to make it out of committee. Senate Bill 321 also has a bit of history behind it having been first introduced during the 2012-13 legislative session. It seeks to allow municipalities to establish civil penalties for smoking in public places, with a cap of $200 per offense.
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