Bill > S551

Introduced Session

This bill would require any person horseback riding on State-owned lands to wear properly-fitted protective headgear with the attached harness properly secured. The headgear would be required to meet or exceed the headgear standards established for equestrian use by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and have either a Safety Equipment Institute tag certifying conformity with the ASTM standards or a tag, label, or other indicator that the headgear conforms with headgear safety standards for equestrian use comparable to those established by the ASTM. The bill would also require the Department of Environmental Protection to erect a sign, notifying the public of the provisions of this bill, at each entrance to State-owned lands on which members of the public may engage in equestrian activity. A person found to have violated this requirement would be subject to a fine up to $50 for a first offense and up to $200 for any subsequent offense. All penalties collected would be deposited in the "New Jersey Brain Injury Research Fund," and be used for the purpose of making grants for brain injury research projects at qualified research institutions approved by the New Jersey State Commission on Brain Injury Research Studies have shown that horseback riding accounts for more severe head injuries than any other sport. Head injuries are associated with approximately 60 percent of all equestrian deaths and 18 percent of equestrian injuries. Aside from death, head injury survivors may suffer personality changes, intellectual and memory impairment, or epilepsy. Treatment for an acute head injury may cost up to $25,000 per day, and over $3 million in a lifetime. Despite these risks, only 20 percent of equestrians regularly wear protective headgear while horseback riding. This bill seeks to encourage the use of a helmet while horseback riding in order to reduce the prevalence of head injury in equestrian sports and to promote public health and safety.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Jim Beach (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document