Effective Jan. 18, 2022, the New Jersey Legislature enacted an amendment to N.J.S.A. 40:48-1 delegating to municipalities the specific authority to “[d]esignate an open container area upon which people are permitted to carry and consume open containers of alcoholic beverages outdoors pursuant to … [N.J.S.A.]33:1-24.4.” N.J.S.A.40:48-1(35). The reference to the contemporaneously enacted N.J.S.A. 33:1-24.1 (“the Amendment”) is to the New Jersey Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (“the Act”), which contains several significant provisions respecting Home Rule.

The Significant Provisions

First, an “open container area” is defined as either a portion or the entirety of a municipality where persons over the age of 21 can carry and consume open containers of alcoholic beverages outdoors.