STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Diegnan
SYNOPSIS
Requires new flooring for schools and child care centers to be certified mercury free.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning schools and child care centers and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No construction permit shall be issued for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, repair, or upgrade to any flooring in a school or child care center unless the applicant presents a certification issued by the manufacturer of the flooring materials to be used in the construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, repair, or upgrade of the school or child care center that the materials are free of mercury and compounds containing mercury.
b. A manufacturer of flooring used in the construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, repair, or upgrade of a school or child care center that issues a certification falsely stating that the flooring is free of mercury and compounds containing mercury, shall be liable to a civil penalty of $10,000 for a first offense and $25,000 for a second or subsequent offense, which penalty may be collected and enforced by the local enforcing agency by summary proceedings pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
c. As used in this section:
"Child care center" means a child care center licensed pursuant to the provisions of the "Child Care Center Licensing Act," P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-1 et seq.).
"School" means a public or nonpublic school containing any of the grades kindergarten through 12.
2. This act shall take effect 90 days after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that no construction permit may be issued for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, repair, or upgrade to any flooring in a school or child care center unless the applicant presents a certification issued by the manufacturer of the flooring materials to be used in the construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, repair, or upgrade of the school or child care center that the materials are free of mercury and compounds containing mercury.
A flooring manufacturer that issues a certificate for the purposes of the bill that falsely states that a flooring product is free of mercury and compounds containing mercury will be liable to a civil penalty of $10,000 for a first offense and $25,000 for a second or subsequent offense The bill will take effect 90 days after the date of enactment.