Sponsored by:
Senator RAJ MUKHERJI
District 32 (Hudson)
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
The "Healthy and Affordable Construction for Tomorrow Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning standards for certain emissions within newly constructed structures and supplementing P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be known and may be cited as the "Healthy and Affordable Construction for Tomorrow Act."
2. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"All-electric ready" means a building or structure, project, or portion thereof, that contains electrical systems and designs that provide sufficient capacity for a future retrofit of a mixed-fuel building or structure to an all-electric building or structure, including sufficient space, drainage, electrical conductors or raceways, bus bar capacity, and overcurrent protective devices for such retrofit.
"Qualifying substance" means a substance that, when combusted, emits 25 kilograms or more of carbon dioxide per million British thermal units of energy, as determined by the United States Energy Information Administration.
3. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Commissioner of Community Affairs shall amend the State Uniform Construction Code in accordance with the following requirements:
(1) On and after the first day of the 12th month next following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the code shall prohibit the combustion of any qualifying substance in a new building or structure that is less than seven stories in height.
(2) On and after the first day of the 36th month next following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the code shall prohibit the combustion of any qualifying substance in new buildings or structures, regardless of height.
(3) No enforcing agency shall issue a certificate of occupancy pursuant to section 15 of P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-133), following the effective date of the prohibitions in this subsection, unless the building or structure complies with the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section, the code shall exempt:
(a) systems for emergency back-up power and standby power systems;
(b) emergency management facilities; and
(c) buildings or structures specifically designated for occupancy by a commercial food establishment.
(2) The code shall limit, for a building or structure that is granted an exemption pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the combustion of a qualifying substance to the system and areas of a building or structure for which compliance with subsection a. of this section is infeasible. The code shall require, to the fullest extent feasible, that an area or service within the building or structure described in this paragraph be all-electric ready, where there exists the combustion of any qualifying substance.
(3) Financial considerations shall not constitute a sufficient basis to determine physical or technical infeasibility.
(4) Exemptions provided by the code pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be reviewed by the commissioner during each major code update cycle to determine whether the exemption remains necessary.
4. On or before the first day of the 12th month next following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of Community Affairs and the President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities shall submit a joint report to the Governor, and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, which shall contain information regarding what changes to electric rate designs, new or existing subsidy programs, statutes, rules, regulations, or policies are necessary since the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
5. Notwithstanding section 5 of P.L.1983, c.496 (C.52:27D-123.1), any other provision of the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.), or regulations promulgated pursuant to the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.), nothing in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be interpreted or otherwise construed as preempting a municipality from prohibiting infrastructure, building systems, or equipment that uses or combusts fossil fuels or any qualifying substances, or from prescribing standards that are more restrictive than P.L. ,