Bill Text: NJ ACR13 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Determines that Department of Community Affairs proposed regulation requiring the implementation of the State Uniform Construction Code in campgrounds is not consistent with legislative intent.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee [ACR13 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-ACR13-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 13
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ALISON LITTELL MCHOSE
District 24 (Sussex, Hunterdon and Morris)
Assemblyman GARY R. CHIUSANO
District 24 (Sussex, Hunterdon and Morris)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Prieto
SYNOPSIS
Determines that Department of Community Affairs proposed regulation requiring the implementation of the State Uniform Construction Code in campgrounds is not consistent with legislative intent.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
A Concurrent Resolution calling for the rescission of proposed agency rules pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.
Whereas, The Department of Community Affairs has proposed for adoption a certain regulation requiring the regulation of recreational vehicles as manufactured housing, in conflict with federal and State law;
Whereas, the department is seeking to impose its interpretation concerning its powers to regulate certain recreational vehicles as housing in order to overturn a decision of the Sussex County Construction Board of Appeals that held that the department could not require these recreational vehicles to comply with State regulations governing manufactured housing;
Whereas, the proper route to overturn a county construction board of appeals decision by a department is to file, within the time prescribed by statute, an appeal in Superior Court, rather than attempting to overturn an unfavorable decision through an abuse of the rulemaking procedures;
Whereas, Within these regulations, entitled a "prospective code interpretation" of the State Uniform Construction Code, the Department of Community Affairs incorrectly defines certain recreational vehicles, which are treated elsewhere under State law as motor vehicles, as housing, and mandates their inclusion under the State Uniform Construction Code;
Whereas, The Department of Health and Senior Services regulates campground facilities within which recreational vehicles may be sited within the State;
Whereas, certain recreational vehicles of dimensions greater than 400 square feet are not exempted from the federal definition of manufactured housing, and thus are not permitted in campgrounds;
Whereas, recreational vehicles of dimensions 400 square feet and less are not regulated as manufactured housing by the federal government, are intended for recreational purposes, are not permanent housing, and are permitted in campgrounds without compliance with the regulations governing manufactured housing;
Whereas, federal law clearly preempts all States from establishing safety and manufacturing standards for manufactured housing and limits them to promulgating standards for stabilizing and installing manufactured housing; and
Whereas, the Department of Community Affairs is without lawful authority under State law to regulate as housing or construction those recreational vehicles which do not meet the federal regulatory definition of manufactured housing; now, therefore
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring)
1. Pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, the Legislature may review any rule or regulation of an administrative agency to determine if the rule or regulation is consistent with the intent of the Legislature.
2. The Legislature finds that the regulation proposed by the Department of Community Affairs concerning the applicability of the State Uniform Construction Code to certain recreational vehicles (N.J.A.C.5:23‑9.3, PRN 2006-300) located within campgrounds is not consistent with legislative intent, in that the proposed regulation:
a. Is outside of the scope of the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.), which is to ensure adequate maintenance of buildings and structures throughout the State and to adequately protect the safety and welfare of occupants or users of buildings and structures, but which act was not intended by the Legislature to regulate recreational vehicles utilized in campgrounds;
b. Is not consistent with the legislative intent of section 9 of "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-127), as amended by section 4 of P.L.1995, c.54, which established the county construction board of appeals (CCBA), and under regulations promulgated to effectuate that act, requires that appeals from a decision of a CCBA be made to Superior Court within a set period of time, but did not provide for an alternative to that appeal process by permitting the decision to be overturned through the State agency rulemaking process; and
c. Did not consider the effect on small businesses operating campgrounds which currently do not permit manufactured housing on site, but which will be regulated under the proposed interpretation as if the campgrounds are manufactured housing parks, if certain-sized recreational vehicles are present, in violation of the intent of the regulatory flexibility analysis required to be conducted by the department pursuant to the "New Jersey Regulatory Flexibility Act," P.L.1986, c.169 (C.52:14B-16).
3. The Clerk of the General Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a duly authenticated copy of this concurrent resolution to the Governor and the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
4. The Department of Community Affairs shall, pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, have 30 days following transmittal of this resolution to amend or withdraw the proposed regulations or the Legislature may, by passage of another concurrent resolution, exercise its authority under the Constitution to invalidate the proposed regulations or prohibit those regulations from taking effect.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution expresses the finding of the Legislature that regulations proposed for adoption by the Department of Community Affairs requiring the regulation of certain recreational vehicles as manufactured housing are not consistent with the legislative intent of several statutes.
The department states within its proposed regulation that it is seeking to impose its interpretation concerning its powers to regulate certain recreational vehicles as housing in order to overturn an unfavorable decision of the Sussex County Construction Board of Appeals (CCBA) that held that the department could not require these certain recreational vehicles to comply with State regulations governing manufactured housing. The Legislative intent as expressed through P.L.1995, c.54 is that the appeal of a construction board decision is to be made to the Superior Court; there is no provision in the statute for bypassing the appeal process with new regulations which seek to overturn a county construction board of appeals decision.
The proposed regulation is also inconsistent with the Legislative intent expressed in the "State Uniform Construction Code Act" that the code to be applied to buildings and structures, and is not intended, therefore, to apply to recreational vehicles, which application will occur under the proposed regulations for certain-sized recreational park trailers that are exempt under federal regulations from compliance with manufactured housing regulations.
Finally, the proposed regulation is not consistent with the legislative intent of the "New Jersey Regulatory Flexibility Act," N.J.S.A.52:14B-16, because the department did not consider the effect on small businesses that are campgrounds for recreational purposes only and which do not permit manufactured housing on site, but which will be regulated under the proposed regulation as if the campgrounds are manufactured housing parks, if certain-sized recreational vehicles are present on the campsites.
The Department of Community Affairs shall have 30 days following transmittal of this resolution to amend or withdraw the proposed regulation or the Legislature may, by passage of another concurrent resolution, exercise its authority under the Constitution to invalidate the proposed regulation or prohibit that regulation from taking effect.
