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AR 166

Urges Miss America Pageant to return to Atlantic City.

2024-2025 Regular Session Introduced by Margie Donlon and 3 co-sponsors

AR 166 urges the Miss America Pageant to return to Atlantic City in 2025 and every year after; a symbolic, nonbinding show of support directed to the Miss America Organization.

Filed with Secretary of State
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Bill Summary · AR 166

Summary of Assembly Resolution AR 166 (New Jersey)

Overview and Purpose

  • AR 166 is a non-binding Assembly resolution urging the Miss America Pageant to return to Atlantic City in 2025 and to be held there in every year thereafter.
  • The measure was introduced on October 21, 2024, reported out of the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee on January 23, 2025, and passed the Assembly on January 30, 2025. It was filed with the Secretary of State on January 30, 2025.

What the resolution would do

  • Section 1: Urges the Miss America Pageant to return to Atlantic City in 2025 and every year thereafter.
  • Section 2: Requires copies of the resolution to be transmitted by the Assembly Clerk to the CEO of the Miss America Organization and the current Miss America.
  • The resolution is framed as a formal expression of support and a request to the Miss America Organization, not as new law or funding.

Background and context provided in the resolution

  • The Miss America Pageant originated in Atlantic City in 1921 (initially the Inter-City Beauty Contest) and has long been associated with the city.
  • Notable early history notes include Bette Cooper, a New Jersey native, as one of the early Miss America winners.
  • Since 1945, the Pageant has awarded over $150 million in scholarships, making it the world’s largest scholarship program for women.
  • The Pageant adopted the “platform” concept in 1989, encouraging contestants to champion social causes; winners have spent the year following their victory promoting various causes.
  • Atlantic City hosted the Pageant for most of its history, with interruptions: it moved to Las Vegas briefly (2006–2013), returned to Atlantic City (2013–2023), and moved to Orlando, Florida in 2024.
  • The resolution notes the long and storied relationship between the Pageant and Atlantic City and urges a return to that tradition.

Who/what would be affected

  • The Miss America Organization (and its leadership) would be the primary recipient of the resolution’s request.
  • Atlantic City tourism and related stakeholders could view the resolution as aligning legislative support with the Pageant’s return, potentially influencing tourism marketing and economic planning.
  • No new legal obligations, funding, or regulatory changes are proposed; the measure is a symbolic, aspirational request.

Procedural and timeline notes

  • Introduced: October 21, 2024
  • Committee action: January 23, 2025 (reported out favorably)
  • Assembly action: January 30, 2025 (passed, 69-0-3)
  • Filing: January 30, 2025 (with the Secretary of State)

Bottom line

AR 166 expresses strong bipartisan legislative encouragement for the Miss America Pageant to resume its long-standing Atlantic City hosting tradition starting in 2025 and continuing thereafter, emphasizing the pageant’s historical ties, scholarship impact, and cultural significance to New Jersey.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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