BERKELEY TOWNSHIP BECOMES 23rd N.J. MUNICIPALITY TO REFUND CCW FEE

Posted on: May 23, 2026

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is cheering the decision by the Town Council of Berkeley Township (also known as Bayville) for becoming the 23rd municipality in New Jersey to rebate a portion of the state-mandated carry permit fee to Garden State gun owners.

This week, the council voted to refund $100 of the $150 fee to citizens who obtained their carry permits. The refund movement started last year, with the involvement of CCRKBA, the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action and the New Jersey Firearm Owners Syndicate. This effort has provided relief to untold numbers of New Jersey residents for whom the state-mandated fee has been a financial burden, merely to exercise their right to keep and bear arms.

"We are both delighted and proud of the progress our effort has achieved,” said CCRKBA Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb. “Working with our partners and the various participating municipalities has been an incredibly rewarding experience, demonstrating how cooperation and common sense produce a benefit for the public.

"What may have seemed like an impossible task this time last year has become a success story which still has many chapters waiting to be written,” he continued. “It reminds us all that good people can come together to do the right thing, and the Citizens Committee is proud to be part of this remarkable project.

“We’re particularly inspired by the comments of Berkeley Township Mayor John Bacchione,” Gottlieb stated, “who recognizes the steep permit fee as a deterrent towards people wanting to exercise their rights. We also recognize the effort by state Senator Carmen Amato, Jr. to help make this happen.

The permit fee rebate project is a first-of-its-kind effort, and is significant right now as momentum is growing nationally for the full restoration of the Second Amendment as a first-class right and a cornerstone of the constitution as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary on July 4. 

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.