Bill Text: NJ A4560 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Creates Joint Blue Ribbon Task Force on Impacts of Climate Change on Property Insurance.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-09-17 - Reported out of Assembly Comm. with Amendments, 2nd Reading [A4560 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A4560-Amended.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman MICHAEL VENEZIA
District 34 (Essex)
Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman ROY FREIMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Sampson and Calabrese
SYNOPSIS
Creates Joint Blue Ribbon Task Force on Impacts of Climate Change on Property Insurance.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee on September 17, 2026, with amendments.
An Act creating a task force on the impact of climate change on property insurance.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares:
a. A changing climate presents the State with more frequent risks, such as sunny day flooding, heat waves, and more extreme risks, including wildfires, winds, storm surges, and compound flooding from intensive storms;
b. Sea level rise is going to make some coastal communities not only uninsurable due to increasingly consistent flooding, but also uneconomic and unsafe for continued habitation;
c. From 2018 to 2022, the rate at which insurers dropped homeowners property insurance policies in the State jumped 69.54 percent from 0.47 percent to 0.8 percent;
d. Property owners want insurance that is affordable and available, and research has demonstrated that insured households have improved recoveries, but underpricing in high-risk areas can further drive insurers from the market, lead to low-quality coverage, and create perverse incentives for underinvestment in risk reduction; and
e. It is both reasonable and necessary for the State to enable, facilitate, support, and safeguard the provision of high-quality, comprehensive property insurance to home and commercial property owners.
2. a. There is created in, but not of, the Department of Banking and Insurance, the Joint Blue Ribbon Task Force on Impacts of Climate Change on Property Insurance. The task force shall be comprised of 17 members as follows:
(1) the Commissioners of Banking and Insurance, Community Affairs, and Environmental Protection, or their designees, serving ex officio;
(2) two members of the Senate, who shall not be of the same political party, appointed by the President of the Senate;
(3) two members of the General Assembly, who shall not be of the same political party, appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly;
(4) five members shall be representatives from the private sector, specifically from an insurance association, an insurer, a reinsurer, a real estate representative, and a business representative, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate;
(5) three members from nonprofit entities, specifically a representative from a consumer advocacy group, a planning advocacy entity, and an environmental advocacy entity, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate; and
(6) two members from academic institutions with expertise in climate change and insurance, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.
b. The Departments of Banking and Insurance, Community Affairs, and Environmental Protection shall provide staff support to the task force, and the task force shall be entitled to call to its assistance other State department employees as necessary.
c. The purpose of the task force shall be to assess the current and predicted impacts of climate change on residential and commercial property insurance by analyzing:
(1) how the State, federal programs such as the National Flood Insurance Program, and the insurance industry may be subsidizing risky decision-making, keeping or putting people and property in harm's way;
(2) 1how the State can ensure that the data necessary to analyze drivers of insurance costs, claims, and coverage is available for robust, independent research;
(3)1 in which places 1[does]1 the price of insurance 1does1 not reflect the risk that a property faces;
1[(3) in which] (4) the1 communities 1in which1 properties are or will be uninsurable at a reasonable cost in the next 50 years because of everyday risks such as tidal flooding or high-severity, low-frequency events such as disasters;
1[(4)] (5)1 how the State will ensure access to residential and commercial property insurance without subsidizing or enabling dangerous or impractical location choices;
1[(5)] (6)1 how changes in the insurance market and underlying physical risks, such as flooding, may impact a municipality's current affordable housing inventory and its ability to meet its affordable housing requirements;
1[(6)] (7)1 given potential changes at the federal level impacting the availability of climate data, which alternative sources of information may be available in the future, and how changes in the availability of that information may impact the competition among insurers and the ability of New Jersey communities to prepare and plan for longer-term insurability;
1[(7) how changes in the affordability and availability of property insurance will impact real estate value] (8) how insurance fees, surcharges, and endorsements can incentivize climate resilience and mitigation;
(9) how the State can ensure insurance companies account for State mitigation investments in disaster risk models1;
1[(8)] (10)1 the displacement and segregation impacts on communities in New Jersey, especially on those with low and moderate incomes; and
1[(9)] (11)1 any other issues or concerns that the task force deems relevant and appropriate.
d. Not later than one year following the appointment of all task force members, the task force shall submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, a report containing a study and evaluation of its findings and recommendations. The report shall include, but not be limited to, a description of any present or potential concerns related to the impact of climate change on property insurance and whether existing State or federal law or practices adequately address those concerns, and any recommendations to address inadequacies in those laws or practices. The task force shall expire upon submission of the report.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
