---
type: "Bill"
title: "Designates April 2nd of each year as \"World Autism Awareness Day.\""
description: "Designates April 2nd of each year as \"World Autism Awareness Day.\""
jurisdiction: "us/states/nj"
legislature: "New Jersey Legislature"
session: "217"
identifier: "AJR 54"
citation: "New Jersey AJR 54 (217)"
classification: ["joint resolution"]
subjects: ["COMMEMORATIO", "DISEASE", "MENTAL HEALT"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Beach, James", "Benson, Daniel R.", "Chiaravalloti, Nicholas", "Holley, Jamel C.", "McKnight, Angela V.", "Mosquera, Gabriela M.", "Sweeney, Stephen M.", "Wimberly, Benjie E."]
version_count: 2
action_count: 7
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2016-02-04T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2017-07-21T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6f35c6ab-4287-46dd-bdb9-3f4ad4204237"
source_url: "http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/downloads.asp"
source_hash: "628a3cbc44823961b07ceed995b5b1e7e0e4c7e8fe07cf9dd35db769911e51b3"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nj"]
---

# New Jersey AJR 54 (217) — Designates April 2nd of each year as "World Autism Awareness Day."

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Assembly Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/AJR/54_U1.HTM)
2. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/AJR/54_I1.HTM)

## Votes

- Reported out of Assembly committee as a substitute — **6–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Beach, James — primary (person)
- Benson, Daniel R. — primary (person)
- Chiaravalloti, Nicholas — primary (person)
- Holley, Jamel C. — primary (person)
- McKnight, Angela V. — primary (person)
- Mosquera, Gabriela M. — primary (person)
- Sweeney, Stephen M. — primary (person)
- Wimberly, Benjie E. — primary (person)
- Giblin, Thomas P. — cosponsor (person)
- Lagana, Joseph A. — cosponsor (person)
- Wisniewski, John S. — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2016-02-04T05:00:00+00:00** Introduced in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Women and Children Committee `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2017-01-19T05:00:00+00:00** Reported from Assembly Committee as a Substitute, 2nd Reading
- **2017-03-23T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (74-0-0) `passage`
- **2017-05-01T04:00:00+00:00** Received in the Senate without Reference, 2nd Reading
- **2017-06-29T04:00:00+00:00** Substituted for SJR104
- **2017-06-29T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (Passed Both Houses) (35-0) `passage`
- **2017-07-21T04:00:00+00:00** Approved P.L.2017, JR-14. `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/6f35c6ab-4287-46dd-bdb9-3f4ad4204237`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Jersey legislature records).