This bill mandates that businesses receiving economic development subsidies from the State of New Jersey forfeit a portion of those subsidies or make a payment to the State if they are found to be responsible for violating environmental laws. Specifically, if the Commissioner of Environmental Protection determines that a recipient business is responsible for an environmental incident, the business must choose between forfeiting 20% of the total value of the subsidies awarded for that tax year or paying the total costs incurred to address the environmental incident. These costs can include environmental remediation, housing relocation for affected residents, and mental health counseling, among others. The bill also establishes a process for determining these costs and requires written notification to the recipient business regarding the forfeiture or payment.

Additionally, the bill creates the Environmental Incident Recovery Fund, which will be used to reimburse residents of communities impacted by environmental incidents for costs incurred due to those incidents. Payments made to the State under this bill will be deposited into this fund. If a recipient business fails to comply with the requirements, it will forfeit all economic development subsidies awarded to it and its affiliates until compliance is achieved. Future agreements for economic development subsidies must include a provision that subjects the recipient business to the stipulations of this bill.