Bill Text: NJ ACR189 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Determines that proposed DEP rules and regulations repealing rules and regulations concerning State participation in greenhouse gas cap and trade programs are inconsistent with legislative intent.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-12-17 - Substituted by SCR125 [ACR189 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-ACR189-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 189
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 22, 2014
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblyman JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Determines that proposed DEP rules and regulations repealing rules and regulations concerning State participation in greenhouse gas cap and trade programs are inconsistent with legislative intent.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution concerning legislative review of Department of Environmental Protection regulations pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.
Whereas, Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey provides that the Legislature may review any rule or regulation adopted or proposed by an administrative agency to determine if the rule or regulation is consistent with the intent of the Legislature as expressed in the language of the statute which the rule or regulation is intended to implement and, upon a finding that the rule or regulation is not consistent with legislative intent, may transmit the finding to the Governor and the head of the agency; and
Whereas, On July 7, 2014, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) proposed for public comment in the New Jersey Register new rules and regulations to repeal existing rules and regulations codified at N.J.A.C.7:27C, N.J.A.C.7:27-22, and N.J.A.C.7:27A in an effort to formally eliminate the regulatory scheme governing New Jersey's participation in a greenhouse gas cap and trade program; and
Whereas, The summary of the proposal attempts to justify the repeal of these regulations by citing a recent Appellate Division decision which determined that the Governor had the authority to withdraw from participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) without legislative involvement; and
Whereas, The summary of the proposal does not accurately portray the legislative intent of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et seq.), which authorized the DEP to promulgate N.J.A.C.7:27C, and related provisions in N.J.A.C.7:27-22 and N.J.A.C.7:27A, which govern the State's participation in a greenhouse gas cap and trade program; and
Whereas, At the time N.J.A.C.7:27C and the related provisions in N.J.A.C.7:27-22 and N.J.A.C.7:27A were adopted by the DEP, the particular greenhouse gas cap and trade program in which the State was participating was RGGI; and
Whereas, The legislative intent of P.L.2007, c.340, in part, was to direct the DEP to establish rules and regulations to govern the State's potential participation in a greenhouse gas cap and trade program. It was not the intent of P.L.2007, c.340 to authorize the DEP to repeal those rules and regulations, once established, based upon the State no longer actively participating in RGGI, or any other specific greenhouse gas cap and trade program; and
Whereas, Specifically, the repeal of the rules, as proposed by the DEP in the New Jersey Register on July 7, 2014, would contradict the legislative intent of section 3 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-47). That section of law mandates that the DEP, by rule or regulation, "take any measures necessary" to govern the State's participation in a greenhouse gas cap and trade program. Section 3 of P.L.2007, c.340 authorized, but did not require, the DEP to exercise this authority in cooperation and coordination with other states or countries that are participating in regional, national, or international carbon dioxide emissions trading programs, necessarily implying that the DEP's affirmative statutory duty to promulgate such rules and regulations was not contingent upon the State's participation in a regional, national, or international program such as RGGI. Accordingly, section 3 of P.L.2007, c.340 did not explicitly or implicitly authorize the DEP to repeal these rules and regulations upon the State's withdrawal from RGGI. Contrary to the position taken in the summary of the proposal, the DEP remains obligated to maintain rules and regulations pursuant to the legislative intent of section 3 of P.L.2007, c.340; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Legislature declares that the rules and regulations proposed in the New Jersey Register on July 7, 2014 by the Department of Environmental Protection repealing the existing regulatory scheme concerning the State of New Jersey's participation in a greenhouse gas cap and trade program are not consistent with the intent of the Legislature as expressed through the enactment of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et seq.).
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Governor and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection in accordance with the requirements of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.
3. Pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection (DEP) shall have 30 days following transmittal of this concurrent resolution to amend or withdraw the proposed rules and regulations or the Legislature may, by passage of another concurrent resolution, exercise its authority under the Constitution to invalidate the rules and regulations in whole or in part, or prohibit the proposed rules and regulations, in whole or in part, from taking effect.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution declares that the Legislature has determined that the rules and regulations proposed in the New Jersey Register on July 7, 2014 by the Department of Environmental Protection repealing the regulatory scheme concerning the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) are not consistent with the intent of the Legislature as expressed through the enactment of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et seq.). The repeal of the rules, as proposed by the DEP on July 7, 2014, would contradict the legislative intent of section 3 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-47) specifically. This provision affirmatively mandated that the DEP promulgate rules and regulations to govern the State's participation in a greenhouse gas cap and trade program. Section 3 of P.L.2007, c.340 authorized, but did not require, the DEP to exercise this authority in cooperation and coordination with other states or countries that are participating in regional, national, or international carbon dioxide emissions trading programs. This affirmative statutory duty to promulgate such rules and regulations was not contingent upon the State's participation in a regional, national, or international program such as RGGI. Accordingly, section 3of P.L.2007, c.340 did not explicitly or implicitly authorize the DEP to repeal these rules and regulations upon the State's withdraw from RGGI. Contrary to the position taken in the summary of the proposal, the DEP remains obliged to establish rules and regulations pursuant to the legislative intent of section 3 of P.L.2007, c.340.
The Commissioner of Environmental Protection will have 30 days following transmittal of this concurrent resolution to amend or withdraw the proposed rules and regulations or the Legislature may, by passage of another concurrent resolution, exercise its authority under the Constitution to invalidate the rules and regulations in whole or in part, or prohibit the proposed rules and regulations, in whole or in part, from taking effect.
