A 3392 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Designates hazelnut as State nut of New Jersey.

This bill designates the hazelnut as New Jersey's official State nut. It recognizes Rutgers University's development of disease-resistant hazelnut varieties (named "Raritan," "Somerset," "Monmouth," and "Hunterdon") that enable commercial growing in New Jersey, making it the first East Coast state to produce this crop. The bill has no regulatory or funding provisions - it is a symbolic designation acknowledging the crop's emerging economic significance.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Jun 2026

General Assembly Passage

Jun 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Jun 11, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill → Introduced · 3 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MINOR

The bill's substantive content is unchanged; it still designates the hazelnut as the State nut of New Jersey. The changes are procedural and informational: the version status shifted from 'Technical Review' back to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review,' co-sponsor names were removed, and a new Statement section was added providing background on hazelnut farming in New Jersey, Rutgers University's blight-resistant varieties, and the state being the first on the East Coast to grow hazelnuts commercially.

TECHNICAL

Version status changed from 'As reported by the Assembly State and Local Government Committee with technical review' to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel,' indicating a procedural step in the bill's lifecycle.

Co-sponsor names (Assemblyman Freiman and Assemblywoman Donlon) were removed from the header, likely as part of the transition back to introduced status.

A new Statement section was added at the end of the bill providing background context: hazelnuts are a multi-billion-dollar industry, the eastern filbert blight disease previously prevented East Coast commercial production, Rutgers University developed blight-resistant varieties released in 2020 (named Raritan, Somerset, Monmouth, and Hunterdon), and New Jersey is the first East Coast state to grow hazelnuts commercially.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the General Assembly by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 11, 2026

Committee

Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee

upper

Jun 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed by the Assembly (59-16-0)

lower

Jun 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee

lower

3 primary · 1 co-sponsor