Jan. 9, 2008: The bill to end commercial trapping on the artificial reefs off New Jersey's coast died when state Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) failed to post the bill for a vote by the deadline on January 7.
An assembly vote was the last step needed before the bill would've been sent to Governor Corzine to sign or reject. The state Senate this year unanimously voted to ban the commercial trapping.
Much progress was made during the year to ban the traps on the reefs, but the Assembly's failure to vote means the efforts to move the bill through the Senate and Assembly to be accepted or rejected by Corzine will have to start again from scratch.
For further info, see:
Save the Reefs
Senate Passes Reef Bill
Time Still Remains to Pass Reef Bill