Bill Text: NJ A5394 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "Permitting Transparency and Accountability Act"; codifies portions of Executive Order 5 of 2026; establishes Cross-Agency Permitting Team, permit catalog, permit dashboard, and New Jersey Report Card.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-09-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A5394 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5394-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PAUL KANITRA
District 10 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
"Permitting Transparency and Accountability Act"; codifies portions of Executive Order 5 of 2026; establishes Cross-Agency Permitting Team, permit catalog, permit dashboard, and New Jersey Report Card.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning permit processes and State government transparency and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Permitting Transparency and Accountability Act."
2. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. New Jerseyans deserve excellent, transparent, and accountable customer service from their government agencies.
b. A lack of communication, clarity, and deadlines in permitting processes can cost business owners and families time and money, slow economic growth, worsen affordability, harm New Jersey's economic competitiveness, and drive businesses to other States.
c. Streamlined permitting processes are critical to reducing costs, boosting innovation, creating jobs, and growing the economy.
d. Simplifying and modernizing the State's regulatory processes will reduce project costs and delays and improve affordability Statewide.
3. As used in this act:
"State agency" means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality within or created by such principal department, and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or agency.
"Team" means the Cross-Agency Permitting Team established in the New Jersey Innovation Authority.
4. a. There is established a Cross-Agency Permitting Team. The team shall be in the New Jersey Innovation Authority. The purpose of the team shall be to streamline the permitting processes across State agencies.
b. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the team shall, at a minimum:
(1) collect data from State agencies on permitting processing times in order to identify weaknesses and coordinate solutions to increase efficiency;
(2) develop and implement standardized permitting frameworks, timelines, and best practices across State agencies, consistent with State and federal laws, that reduce delays and costs;
(3) establish and maintain a permitting dashboard established pursuant to section 6 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);
(4) evaluate permitting process costs and establish permit process reforms to improve affordability;
(5) coordinate with local governments to integrate and streamline local permitting processes and State permitting processes, whenever feasible and appropriate;
(6) make recommendations for legislation, if appropriate, to improve the permitting processes of State agencies; and
(7) answer permit applicant questions and coordinate across State agencies in order to help resolve issues that delay project approvals.
5. a. (1) Each State agency shall, within 90 days of the effective date of this act, P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), create a catalog of all types of permits it issues, submit the catalog to the Cross-Agency Permitting Team, and publish the catalog on a dedicated page of the State agency's publicly accessible website.
(2) Each State agency shall update and resubmit its catalog on a recurring schedule established by the team, but not less than once every two years, and shall update its catalog within 90 days of any material change to a permit's application requirements, fees, process steps, or legal processing timeline.
b. The catalog to be submitted by each State agency shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) a description of all types of permits issued by the State agency;
(2) any legal authority governing the timeline by which the State agency processes an application for each type of permit;
(3) a description of the methods by which the State agency accepts application materials for each type of permit;
(4) a detailed description of all stages of the approval process, including:
(a) each step in the approval process, including the individual or unit responsible for the step;
(b) the expected timeline for completion of each step;
(c) any involvement of other federal, State, or local government entities in the approval process; and
(d) documentation of hand-offs between departments, agencies, or individuals;
(5) any fees or charges associated with the approval of a permit;
(6) an analysis of and, if appropriate, recommendations regarding what constitutes a "complete application" for the purpose of an application for each type of permit;
(7) an analysis of and, if appropriate, recommendations for the appropriate deadlines by which a State agency shall notify applicants of incomplete applications and process completed applications for each type of permit; and
(8) an analysis of and, if appropriate, recommendations for strategies to improve permitting review times, transparency, and communication with permit applicants, including any existing statutory, regulatory, technological, or operational barriers to faster processing and recommendations for how to address them.
c. Following the receipt of all catalogs by the Cross-Agency Permitting Team, the team shall formulate estimated permitting application process timeframes consistent with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. All timeframes shall include, but need not be limited to:
(1) a completeness determination deadline, in which a State agency shall review an application for completeness and provide a written notice of any deficiencies to an applicant not later than 45 calendar days after receipt of the application; and
(2) a final decision deadline by which date a State agency shall approve, conditionally approve, or deny a completed application as established by statute, regulation, or this section, whichever is earlier, except as provided in subsection e. of this section.
If a State agency does not provide a written notice of deficiencies to an applicant within 45 calendar days of receipt of the application pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the application shall be deemed complete for purposes of the timeframes established under this section.
d. (1) The running of a deadline under this section shall be tolled only during periods when:
(a) the applicant has been notified in writing of incompleteness and has not yet cured the identified deficiencies; or
(b) federal law, or a federal permitting process outside the State agency's control, requires a pause.
(2) A State agency may extend a deadline established under this section only upon a written determination by the agency head that the extension is strictly required by law to avoid unduly compromising public health, public safety, or environmental protection. The determination shall describe the legal requirement and the specific facts supporting the extension.
(3) Any extension provided under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be limited to the shortest additional period.
e. (1) If a State agency fails to meet a deadline under this section, the applicant may submit a written request to the team for escalation.
(2) Not later than 10 business days after receipt of an escalation request, the State agency shall provide the team and the applicant with a written status update, a firm decision date, and any lawful basis for tolling or extension.
(3) If the State agency does not issue a decision by the decision date provided pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the application shall be deemed approved. The State agency may bring an action in the Superior Court for an order allowing a review of the approval of the application if the agency proves an immediate and direct harm from the approval.
6. a. The Cross-Agency Permitting Team shall establish a permitting dashboard. The dashboard shall be an interactive online portal which shall display information on State permit applications in a manner consistent with all applicable federal and State statutory and regulatory requirements.
b. The permitting dashboard shall include, at a minimum, for each permit application the:
(1) date of receipt of the application;
(2) completeness status and the date of the completeness determination;
(3) applicable permitting application process timeframes and any tolling or extension basis;
(4) current status and agency responsible for the application at its current status; and
(5) contact information for applicant questions.
7. a. The Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury shall develop and maintain the New Jersey Report Card. The New Jersey Report Card shall be an interactive, publicly accessible online portal located within the Office of the Governor. The New Jersey Report Card shall display to the public, at the discretion of the Office of the Governor:
(1) information on State government-funded programs and what those programs deliver to the residents of this State;
(2) an interactive State budget analysis tool which shall display, at a minimum:
(a) a breakdown of the State's spending and revenue for the fiscal year;
(b) notable differences between the enacted budget and the Governor's proposed budget; and
(c) changes in State revenue and State spending over time; and
(3) evaluations of State government-funded programs that describe the impact of these programs on outcomes for residents of this State.
b. The Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State agency as it may require and as may be available to it for the purpose of this section.
8. Nothing in this act, P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall be interpreted as creating a private right to have a project included in the permitting dashboard established pursuant to section 4 of this act, P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), as creating legally binding permitting timelines for projects listed on the permitting dashboard, or as giving preference to any pending permit application over any other.
9. This act shall take effect on the 180th day after the date of enactment, except that the New Jersey Innovation Authority and the Department of the Treasury may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill, designated as the "Permitting Transparency and Accountability Act," codifies portions of Executive Order 5 of 2026 and establishes the Cross-Agency Permitting Team, a permit catalog, a permitting dashboard, and the New Jersey Report Card.
The bill establishes a Cross-Agency Permitting Team in the New Jersey Innovation Authority. The purpose of the team will be to streamline the permitting processes across State agencies.
The bill provides that each State agency will, within 90 days of the effective date of the bill, create a catalog of all types of permits it issues, submit the catalog to the Cross-Agency Permitting Team, and publish the catalog on a dedicated page of the State agency's publicly accessible website. Following the receipt of all catalogs by the Cross-Agency Permitting Team, the team will formulate estimated permitting application process timeframes consistent with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. All timeframes must include a completeness determination deadline and a final decision deadline. If a State agency does not provide a written notice of deficiencies to an applicant within 45 calendar days of receipt of the application pursuant to the provisions of the bill, the application will be deemed complete for purposes of the timeframes established under the bill.
Under the bill, the running of a deadline will be tolled only during periods when the applicant has been notified in writing of incompleteness and has not yet cured the identified deficiencies, or when federal law, or a federal permitting process outside the State agency's control, requires a pause. A State agency may extend a deadline only upon a written determination by the agency head that the extension is strictly required by law to avoid unduly compromising public health, public safety, or environmental protection.
The bill also provides that, if a State agency fails to meet a deadline, the applicant may submit a written request to the team for escalation. Not later than 10 business days after receipt of an escalation request, the State agency will provide the team and the applicant with a written status update, a decision date, and any lawful basis for tolling or extension. If the State agency does not issue a decision by the decision date, the applicant may bring an action in the Superior Court for an order compelling the State agency to issue a decision.
The bill also requires the Cross-Agency Permitting Team to establish a permitting dashboard. The dashboard will be an interactive online portal which displays information on State permit applications in a manner consistent with all applicable federal and State statutory and regulatory requirements. Such information will include, but not be limited to, the status of each State permit application and the progress of each State permit application.
The bill also requires the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury to develop and maintain the New Jersey Report Card. The New Jersey Report Card will be an interactive, publicly accessible online portal located within the Office of the Governor which displays to the public, at the discretion of the Office of the Governor:
information on State government-funded programs and what those programs deliver to the residents of this State;
an interactive State budget analysis tool; and
evaluations of State government-funded programs that describe the impact of these programs on outcomes for residents of this State.
