Sponsored by:
Senator DAWN MARIE ADDIEGO
District 8 (Atlantic, Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Requires developers to offer unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology as option in new construction; establishes tax incentives, and State and local purchasing preferences, for unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the purchase and use of unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology and supplementing Titles 27, 52, and 54 of the Revised Statues, Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes, and P.L.1971, c.198.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that the burning of fossil fuels and other industrial processes release harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which in turn contribute to climate change; that, in the coming years, New Jersey is likely to experience increased flooding, drought, and other severe weather effects caused by climate change; and that, in order to help mitigate the serious impacts of climate change, the State must drastically reduce its consumption of fossil fuels and its greenhouse gas emissions.
The Legislature further finds that concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world due to its low cost, strength, and durability; that the production of ordinary Portland cement, the critical ingredient in concrete, is responsible for almost eight percent of the world s carbon dioxide emissions; that ordinary Portland cement requires significant amounts of energy to produce, resulting in high carbon dioxide emissions; that modern technology allows concrete to be produced utilizing less energy, and the emission of carbon dioxide from cement manufacturing can be greatly reduced by capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide in the unit concrete product manufacturing process, including the chemical reaction that results in strength and durability of concrete; and that this process can sequester carbon dioxide in the unit concrete product or chemically transform the carbon dioxide into mineral form, embedding it into the concrete and preventing its release as a gas.
The Legislature therefore determines that it is in the public interest to encourage and support the purchase of unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology in the State; that unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology will greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the concrete and construction industries; and that incentives for permeable pavers that are unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology will further help enhance stormwater management, reduce stormwater runoff, and decrease the risk of flooding in the State.
2. a. A developer shall, for any new construction that requires the use of unit concrete products, where technically feasible, offer to use unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology in the new construction, whenever a prospective purchaser enters into negotiations with the developer to construct or purchase a new residential dwelling or commercial building in the State.
b. A developer shall disclose, in any advertising or offer to construct a new residential dwelling or commercial building, in a form and manner as determined by the commissioner:
(1) that the prospective purchaser may choose to use unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology in the new construction;
(2) the total cost of using unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology in the new construction;
(3) general information on the environmental and other benefits of using unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology; and
(4) information concerning any applicable tax credits, rebates, or other incentives that may be available for the use of unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill or any other law.
c. The commissioner, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, shall:
(1) publish educational materials to demonstrate how developers may incorporate unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology into new construction; and
(2) provide developers with information concerning applicable tax credits, rebates, or other incentives that may be available for the use of unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill) or any other law.
d. The commissioner, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, may adopt, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to implement this section.
e. The commissioner shall enforce the provisions of this section and may penalize and assess violators of this section in accordance with the penalties and procedures provided for under section 18 of P.L.1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-38).
f. As used in this section:
Advertising means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-23).
Commissioner means the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
Developer means a person who constructs, or offers to construct, a new residential dwelling or commercial building in the State.
Prospective purchaser means a person who contemplates acquiring a legal or equitable interest in a new residential dwelling or commercial building.
Unit concrete product means a concrete building product that is fabricated under controlled conditions separate and remote from the intended point of use and is produced in a wet cast or dry cast method in a factory setting and then transported to the location of intended use for installation, including, but not limited to, all concrete pavers, whether permeable or non-permeable, and concrete block.
Unit concrete product that utilizes carbon footprint-reducing technology means a unit concrete product that is certified by the Department of Environmental Protection, or any independent third party authorized by the department, pursuant to section 10