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Fifth-Graders Push For NJ Lawmakers To Name Salt Water Taffy The State Candy

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New Jersey is a step closer to having a state candy.

An Assembly committee on Thursday approved a bill that would give salt water taffy the designation, WCBS 880's Levon Putney reported.

A group of 70 fifth-graders from Sayreville's Samsel Upper Elementary School testified before the panel in Trenton.

Fifth-Graders Push NJ Lawmakers To Name Salt Water Taffy The State Candy

Student Tyler Graham said designating an official state candy can help attract people to the state's boardwalks, most of which have been rebuilt following Superstorm Sandy.

"Even though I haven't tasted it, it's actually more interesting because you actually get to sit there and watch them (the lawmakers) do their job," Graham told Putney.

"It was really fun because we get to talk in front of everybody," student Michelle Lee said.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski introduced the measure at the students' request following a lesson in social studies class on how a bill becomes law.

"What better way for the students to learn?" school librarian Mary Desmond said.

The soft taffy became popular as a souvenir in Atlantic City in the late 19th Century.

It does not contain any salt water.

The bill now goes to the full Assembly.

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