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US: UPDATED - New Jersey law proposed to ban laser pointers above 1 milliwatt

After a spate of aircraft lasings and citizen harassment in Ocean City, a bill has been introduced in the New Jersey state Senate that would ban sales of laser pointers over 1 milliwatt. This is five times less than the current U.S. limit. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations require lasers sold as “pointers” or for pointing purposes to be below 5 milliwatts.)

New Jersey S2430 provides for a $500 penalty for the first offense, and up to $1000 for any subsequent offenses. A laser pointer is defined in the bill as “any device that emits laser light to project a beam that may be used for aiming, targeting, or pointing out features.”

The state Senator representing Ocean City, Jeff Van Drew, introduced the legislation on November 22 2010. It was assigned to the state Senate Commerce Committee.

The bill text is available at e-lobbyist.

UPDATE - June 11 2011: The bill is still pending in the Commerce Committee. Renewed attention has been brought to the legislation as the opening of Ocean City’s 2011 summer season has brought additional incidents against both aircraft and citizens (see links below to related June 2011 news stories).

UPDATE 2 - August 20 2013: The bill passed both the New Jersey Assembly and the Senate, and was sent to Gov. Chris Christie for his signature.

Related LaserPointerSafety.com news stories about Ocean City and New Jersey laser troubles