People wanting to make some extra money shoveling snow in New Jersey this weekend when
Winter Storm Jonas hits won't have to spend part of their proceeds paying for a license.
Earlier this week, Gov. Chris Christie took time out from his GOP presidential campaign to sign a bill that makes it legal for his state's residents to offer shoveling services without being made to first register with their communities,
reports Watchdog.org.
The action came after national headlines came out last year about two teens,
Matt Molinari and Eric Schnepf, who were stopped by police in the town of Bound Brook and told they were not allowed to solicit businesses to shovel their walks without first registering with the town and buying a 180-day license costing $450.
"This new law sends the message that kids looking to make a few bucks on a snow day shouldn't be subjected to government red tape or fined for shoveling snow," said State Sen. Mike Doherty, the Republican who sponsored what's been nicknamed the "right-to-shovel bill."
Doherty called it "incredible" that there were towns that expected teenagers to pay licensing fees to clear off driveways.
However, there are still limits, as the bill removes only licensing requirements for snow shoveling, and only applies if businesses are solicited within 24 hours before a storm is predicted to roll in. Otherwise, towns that have laws prohibiting door-to-door solicition can enforce that legislation.
Christie signed 93 bills this week and vetoed 65, the governor's office reports.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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