LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 3402
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: JUNE 26, 2024
SUMMARY
Synopsis: “New Jersey Design Professional Self-Certification Act”; requires
DCA to establish design professional self-certification program.
Type of Impact: Annual State expenditure and revenue increases; local enforcing
agency cost impact.
Agencies Affected: Department of Community Affairs; local governments.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Annual Fiscal Impact
State Expenditure Increase Indeterminate
State Revenue Increase Indeterminate
Local Enforcing Agency Cost Impact Indeterminate
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the bill will result in an indeterminate
amount of annual costs to the Department of Community Affairs associated with the
establishment and administration of a design professional self-certification program. The State
may collect a reasonable fee in connection with its audit responsibilities under the program,
which will lead to an indeterminate amount of State revenues annually.
 Local enforcing agencies, and the department when acting in that capacity, are also expected
to experience administrative cost increases to review self-certified construction permit
applications and all accompanying documents. However, local enforcing agencies may
experience some cost savings as a result of the bill as the use of the self-certification program
would negate workforce needs that would otherwise be required of the local enforcing agency
to ensure compliance with the Uniform Construction Code. The OLS is unable to estimate the
magnitude and direction of the net cost impact under the bill for local enforcing agencies.
Office of Legislative Services Legislative Budget and Finance Office
State House Annex Phone (609) 847-3105
P.O. Box 068 Fax (609) 777-2442
Trenton, New Jersey 08625 www.njleg.state.nj.us
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BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill directs the Department of Community Affairs to establish a program through which
it is required to certify an architect or engineer who satisfies certain criteria to be a qualified design
professional. This certification enables the certified professional to take responsibility for a
construction project’s compliance with the State Uniform Construction Code, and to self-certify
that an application for a construction permit, and the plans and specifications submitted therewith,
comply with the Uniform Construction Code and other applicable laws. The bill requires an
enforcing agency to: accept a self-certified permit application and accompanying documents;
conduct a supervisory check acknowledging the enforcing agency’s receipt of all materials
required under the Uniform Construction Code; and issue a permit following receipt of a
submission, depending on the scope of the project. The bill directs the department to establish
eligibility requirements for a design professional to qualify to participate in the self-certification
program.
The bill requires the department to establish and promulgate on its website a design
professional of record self-certification form, and requires a qualified design professional of record
to complete, sign, and deliver the completed form to the enforcing agency together with the
construction permit application and accompanying documents. The bill requires a qualified design
professional to submit a design professional of record self-certification statement, and the qualified
design professional’s attestation of the accuracy of submitted information and the compliance with
State requirements. The bill also requires the department to establish and promulgate on its website
an owner certification statement and an owner hold harmless letter.
The bill empowers the department to conduct random audits of qualified design professionals
to determine whether a construction permit application, and plans and other documents submitted
in support of the application, comply with the requirements of the Uniform Construction Code and
other applicable laws. The bill also authorizes the department to charge a reasonable fee to cover
the costs associated with an audit. The bill enables the department to exclude, suspend, or sanction
a qualified design professional for cause for actions specified by the bill. The bill also requires the
department to create and maintain a searchable database on its website of all qualified design
professionals who have been excluded from the program, suspended, or sanctioned by the
department, and requires notice of such actions to be provided to the State Board of Professional
Engineers and Land Surveyors, or the State Board of Architects. The bill requires the department
to undertake a study, in consultation with the Code Advisory Board, within three years of the bill’s
effective to determine construction activity that may be added to the self-certification program.
The department also is to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature regarding
the self-certification program and the results of the study within this three-year period.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes that the bill will result in an indeterminate amount of annual costs to the
Department of Community Affairs associated with the establishment and administration of a
design professional self-certification program. In addition to promulgating rules and regulations
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to implement the design professional self-certification program, the department would be required,
specifically, to establish requirements for design professionals to participate in the self-
certification program and develop a series of forms to be used in the self-certification process. The
department would also be responsible for conducting a study, within three years of the bill’s
effective date, to determine any expansion of the types of projects permitted to be self-certified
under the program as well as for submitting an associated report to the Governor and the
Legislature.
Under the bill, all qualified design professionals are subject to random audit by department to
determine whether the application, plans, and specifications for their projects comply with the bill
and the State Uniform Construction Code. The department would be responsible for designing
and implementing the audits as well as for providing written notice of audit results to the qualified
design professional. Audited qualified design professionals would be given opportunity to correct
violations found in the audit, or face a hearing to exclude, suspend, or otherwise sanction the
qualified design professional. The department would also receive and review applications for
reinstatement to the self-certification program as well as approve continuing education for
qualified design professionals to participate in following disciplinary action. The department
would also be responsible for creating and maintaining a database of qualified design professionals
who have faced disciplinary action under the self-certification program as well as notifying the
appropriate State professional board. The OLS is unable to estimate the number or frequency of
audits of qualified design professionals to be conducted by the department. The OLS is also unable
to predict the complexity of each project that will be audited. For these reasons, the OLS is unable
to estimate the cost of conducting audits of qualified design professionals. However, under the
bill, the department is permitted to collect a reasonable fee to cover the costs of performing an
audit, which will increase annual State revenues
Local enforcing agencies, including the department, which operates as the enforcing agency in
45 municipalities, are also expected to experience administrative cost increases associated with the
requirement to review self-certified construction permit applications and all accompanying
documents. However, local enforcing agencies may experience cost savings as a result of the bill
as the use of the self-certification program would negate workforce needs that would otherwise be
required of the local enforcing agency to ensure compliance with the Uniform Construction Code.
Since the OLS is unable to predict the number of design professionals who will seek the
opportunity to self-certify projects, the number of projects eligible for self-certification, or the
proportion of all eligible projects that qualified design professionals will ultimately seek to self-
certify, the OLS is unable to estimate the magnitude and direction of the net cost impact for local
enforcing agencies.
Section: Local Government
Analyst: Abigail Stoyer
Associate Fiscal Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the
failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).