NJ Regulators Finalize Environmental Justice Rules

New Jersey environmental regulators finalized a rule Monday to protect large swaths of the state from recognized major sources of pollution. This rule is the product of a “holy grail” environmental justice law Gov. Phil Murphy signed in 2020.

The rule is designed to keep pollution from eight different kinds of heavy industries out of already polluted low-income areas and communities of color. The rule now applies across 3,500 neighborhoods and other communities in 350 municipalities that are now considered “overburdened,” covering places where about half the state’s population lives.

The rule now requires environmental regulators to address cumulative pollution before they approve a new industrial site — a major shift from current law, which examines each industrial facility's impact in isolation.

Facilities that would create a “disproportionate impact” in one of these communities can no longer be built, with one narrow exception. Other facilities looking to expand or renew their permits may now have to do more to reduce emissions, noise and even traffic.

Environmental activists who lobbied for the law celebrated the regulations’ adoption while many business organizations, like NJBIA, oppose the rules saying it would hamper new business growth and energy resiliency. 

Changes to Liquor License Reform Bill  

Senator Gordon Johnson (D-37), sponsor of a liquor license overhaul bill championed by Gov. Phil Murphy, recently said he will split the proposal into at least three different measures after the initial bill was met with resistance in the Legislature.

Johnson is drafting legislation that would loosen restrictions imposed on breweries and wineries, allow small towns to obtain more retail consumption licenses, and allow the sale of certain inactive licenses within a given municipality’s county. 

A second, yet-to-be-introduced bill would grant towns with small populations — around 3,000 or 4,000 — additional retail consumption licenses within 12 months, Johnson said. Under the initial proposal, some towns may not have seen their number of licenses increase until the limits were phased out altogether in 2029.

A third bill would allow towns to transfer pocket licenses — licenses that are active but not tied to any establishment — to other municipalities within their county. Sarlo and others have sponsored similar legislation.

Johnson said he hopes the bills would reach the governor’s desk before the end of 2023. 

Governor Signs Election Transparency Act 

Governor Murphy signed the Elections Transparency Act, expanding reporting requirements for recipients of political contributions, loosening pay-to-play restrictions and increasing the amounts that individuals and corporations may contribute to candidates and political parties.  

The Act “sunsets” (nullifies) the patchwork of county and municipal pay-to-play ordinances, creating a statewide standard. The Act raises contribution limits and expands the universe of political committees that can receive contributions from public contractors without triggering pay-to-play violations. 

Statutory changes that will expand the parameters of permissible contributions include: 

1. The maximum yearly contribution to candidate committees by individuals and corporations will double from $2,600 to $5,200; the maximum yearly contribution to State political parties and legislative leadership committees will increase from $25,000 to $75,000; the maximum yearly contribution to county political parties will increase from $37,000 to $75,000; and the maximum yearly contribution to municipal political parties will increase from $7,200 to $14,400.
2. Contributions to legislative leadership committees and to political parties (i.e., State, county, and municipal Democrats and Republicans) will no longer trigger the State’s pay-to-play statute.  Thus, the principal loophole in the pay-to-play law – contributions to members of, and candidates for, the NJ Legislature – will expand to include contributions to legislative leadership committees and State, county, and municipal political parties; and
3. The “fair and open process” exception to pay-to-play that applies to public bidding will now apply at the State as well as the local level, with “fair and open process” defined to include sealed bids. Thus, contractors that do sealed bid work for the State and do not do no-bid work for the State will no longer be barred by pay-to-play law from contributing to the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor.

The increases in the contribution limits will take effect after the primary election in June. The changes to the pay-to-play law take effect immediately.

One final note:  For those who have preferred to stay “under the radar” by contributing $300 or less to candidate committees – because only contributions above $300 have been “reportable” – that figure will now be $200.

Top Democrat Announces Gubernatorial Run 

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, first elected mayor in 2013 and twice reelected (2017 and 2021), has announced that he is running in the 2025 Democratic Primary to succeed sitting Governor Phil Murphy.

The son of Newark deli owners, Fulop was born in Edison. A Goldman Sachs alumnus, he served as a United States Marine in Iraq before getting into politics in his adopted hometown of Jersey City. A political ally of the late Glenn Cunningham, he served as a Ward E councilman prior to securing the office of mayor with a win over Jerry Healy.

“I believe leadership is about standing up for what you believe in, even when it’s not popular, and then fighting successfully to get it done. Now I’m running for governor to bring that same energy and fight to Trenton,” said Fulop. 

Should he win, Fulop would become the first mayor to become New Jersey’s governor since Woodbridge’s Jim McGreevey in 2002. He would be the first-ever mayor of one of the state’s two biggest cities — Newark and Jersey City — to become governor.