TRENTON – Senator Nicholas Scutari said today he will introduce legislation that will keep state parks and beaches open for seven days in the event of a government closure. Casinos in New Jersey currently remain open for seven days after a government closure under state law:
“I am glad that parks and beaches will be open tomorrow, and that residents and visitors will be able to enjoy these areas on the Fourth of July, but we need to make sure this doesn’t happen again. While state government closures are rare, we should take action to make sure that our residents do not have their well-deserved time off affected in the future.
“This unfortunately affected vacations, travel plans and other holiday celebrations for our residents. It resulted in the closure of state parks and beaches, the cancellation of scheduled events and in residents who had already begun their trips having to vacate these properties. The effect is not only that people cannot go to their favorite beach, watch fireworks or camp at a park, but if these crowds do not show up the ancillary businesses that rely upon them also suffer.
“I will be introducing legislation to ensure that state parks will remain open for seven days in the event of a government closure. Currently casinos are protected by a similar law. This legislation will make sure there is as little disruption as possible to our residents and businesses.”
