Bill Text: NJ A3279 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires Deleware River Port Authority to use certain products manufactured in U.S.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-12-18 - Substituted by S2062 (2R) [A3279 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A3279-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Delaware River Port Authority to use certain products manufactured in U.S.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the Delaware River Port Authority and supplementing P.L.1931, c.391, authorizing the Governor, on behalf of the State of New Jersey, to enter into a supplemental compact or agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania supplementing the compact or agreement between the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania entitled "Agreement Between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and The State of New Jersey creating the Delaware River Joint Commission as a body corporate and politic and defining its powers and duties," as amended and supplemented, and authorizing the Governor to apply, on behalf of the State of New Jersey, to the Congress of the United States for its consent to such supplemental compact or agreement.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Governor is authorized to enter into a supplemental compact or agreement, on behalf of the State of New Jersey, with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania supplementing the compact or agreement between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey entitled "Agreement Between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey creating the Delaware River Joint Commission as a body corporate and politic and defining its powers and duties," as set forth in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
2. a. For the purposes of this section: "manufactured in the United States" includes: in the case of an iron or steel product, products for which all manufacturing takes place in the United States, except that metallurgical processes involving the refinement of steel additives need not take place in the United States; and in the case of a manufactured product, products for which all manufacturing takes place in the United States and all manufacturing processes for all component parts of the product takes place in the United States.
b. Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, every contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or improvement of a project or facility entered into by the Delaware River Port Authority shall contain a provision that the iron, steel, and manufactured products used or supplied in the performance of the contract, or any subcontract thereto, shall be manufactured in the United States.
c. The provisions of subsection b. of this section may be waived, upon request submitted to the chief executive officer of the port authority, in any case or category of cases in which the chief executive officer of the port authority finds that:
(1) the application of this section is inconsistent with the public interest;
(2) the materials and products necessary to complete a contract are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or
(3) inclusion of materials and products manufactured in the United States will increase the cost of the project by more than 25 percent.
d. At least 30 days before issuing a waiver under subsection c. of this section, the chief executive officer shall provide public notice of, and an opportunity for public comment on, the proposed waiver.
e. Public notice of a proposed waiver required pursuant to subsection d. of this section shall:
(1) summarize the reason for the request, including the exception in subsection c. of this section under which the waiver is being sought;
(2) be posted prominently on the public Internet website of the port authority; and
(3) be provided by electronic means to any person, firm, or corporation that makes a written or electronic request to the port authority.
f. If, after public notice and an opportunity for public comment required by subsections d. and e. of this section, the chief executive officer determines to issue a waiver, the chief executive officer shall provide a detailed justification for the waiver that shall be posted prominently on the public Internet website of the port authority and provided by electronic means to any person, firm, or corporation that has made a written or electronic request to the port authority to receive notice of waiver actions. The justification shall:
(1) address the public comments received pursuant to subsection d. of this section; and
(2) be published before the waiver takes effect.
g. The port authority shall not award a contract or subcontract to any person, firm, or corporation if the person, firm, or corporation knowingly:
(1) affixes a label or inscription to any iron, steel, or manufactured product indicating that the material or product was manufactured in the United States, if the material or product was not manufactured in the United States; or
(2) represents that any iron, steel, or manufactured product used in the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or improvement of a project or facility was manufactured in the United States, if the material or product was not manufactured in the United States.
3. The Governor is authorized to apply on behalf of the State of New Jersey to the Congress of the United States for its consent and approval to the amendments to this compact or agreement provided in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), but in the absence of that consent and approval, the commission referred to in such compact shall have all the powers the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey may confer upon it without the consent and approval of Congress.
4. This act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of legislation having an identical effect as this act; but if the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall already have enacted such legislation, this act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits the Delaware River Port Authority (port authority) from entering into a contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or improvement of a project or facility unless the contract contains a provision that the iron, steel, and manufactured products used or supplied in the performance of the contract, or any subcontract thereto, be manufactured in the United States.
The bill provides that the chief executive officer of the port authority may, upon request, issue a waiver to the requirement that iron, steel, and manufactured products be manufactured in the United States after public notice and comment if: (1) requiring that materials and products be manufactured in the United States is inconsistent with the public interest; (2) the materials and products necessary to complete a contract are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3) inclusion of materials and products manufactured in the United States will increase the cost of the project by more than 25 percent.
A person, firm, or corporation which knowingly mislabels products or materials or misrepresents that iron, steel, or manufactured products are manufactured in the United States is prohibited from future contracting with the port authority.
