Bill Text: NJ S1348 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns certificates of occupancy for public housing projects.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-06 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S1348 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S1348-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns certificates of occupancy for public housing projects.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certificates of occupancy for public housing projects and supplementing P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A code enforcement official shall not, in connection with new construction which is "public housing" or "publicly-assisted housing" as those terms are defined in section 3 of P.L.1992, c.79 (40A:12A-3), withhold the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for any such new construction on the sole basis of unpaid fines levied under P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52-27D-119 et seq.) in connection with such construction.
b. A code enforcement official shall immediately issue a certificate of occupancy for those projects for which a certificate was previously withheld under the circumstances described in subsection a. of this section.
c. Nothing in this section shall be construed as releasing an obligation to pay fines levied under P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.).
2. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to any new construction of public housing or publicly-assisted housing for which a certificate of occupancy has not yet been issued.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a code enforcement official of the State Uniform Construction Code from refusing to issue a certificate of occupancy for public housing, or publicly assisted housing, if the refusal is based solely on outstanding fines or penalties levied as a result of construction code violations. Often, the contractors against whom the fines have been imposed are unable to collect payment from federal sources if a certificate of occupancy has not been granted. This prevents contractors from having the resources to pay the fines. Because the construction of public housing and affordable housing is in demand, occupancy of this type of housing should not be delayed for financial reasons.
Because fines will no longer be a bar to the granting of a certificate of occupancy for this type of construction, the bill would have the effect of encouraging the use of stop work orders, rather than monetary penalties, to penalize builders for failing to meet construction code standards. A stop work order allows the builder to correct the problem, while a fine increases the building costs and delays the completion of construction.
The bill would require the immediate issuance of a certificate of occupancy for those public or publicly-assisted housing projects for which the code has been met, regardless of the existence of unpaid fines.
